Kes

The well-known film and stage play “Kes” is an adaptation of the novel “A Kestrel for a Knave” by Barry Hines. The story follows the life of teenager, Billy Casper, who is about to leave school and find a job.

Billy Casper's home lacks love, with a self-centred mother and an abusive brother offering no support. School is equally harsh; Billy struggles academically and is bullied by classmates, while teachers often cane students for minor infractions. Only Mrs Farthing shows an interest in Billy, appreciating his passion for hawks. He discusses training and caring for the kestrel which boosts Billy's confidence and gives him purpose in life.

As the play progresses, we observe Billy's life, his interactions with classmates and his dysfunctional home life - never a tender moment and lots of shouting. He hopes for his father's return, although he knows deep down that it is unlikely.

Scenes of raw emotion range from laughter, anger to sheer despair all perfectly played by Chris Thorpe. Through copious amounts of dialogue, he really understood his character and gave a brilliant performance throughout the play. His reaction with a real-life kestrel was excellent and the final scene was just heartbreaking when, though sheer hatred, Jud had killed Billy’s beloved bird. There was another very moving scene, shown on back-projection, where we see what we believe is in Billy’s mind as his father returns and everyone is living a loving and happy family life. I am sure that several members of the audience were also in tears at this point.

Another young actor, Alexander Evans, was just amazing as Macdowall who was always bullying Billy. Alexander understood his character and performed some hilarious scenes. These scenes succeeded thanks to the support of all their classmates. The nine young actors concerned were first-class. They perfectly portrayed their characters and deserve recognition: Finlay Challis, Liberty Cooper, Lewis Davis, Olivia Hanson, Rebecca Hindley, Callum Orridge,  Eva Reynolds and Lucy Wadsworth. Jasmine Davis had two characters to play: the head girl and the milk woman.  

Kate Howard was spot-on as Mrs Casper and just about all her dialogue was delivered with tough emotions. Jud Casper is not an easy character to portray having so much anger both inside and outside himself, and Joe Handley skilfully delivered this in both speech and body language.

Jemma Vernon played one of the “nice” teacher, Mrs Farthing, and Jemma’s characterisation was delightful and perfect. Due to having a number of characters in this production, other members of the cast took on more than one role, and they all gave great interpretations and fine pieces of acting. Anthony Parsley as Mr Gryce, the strict headmaster, farmer and a betting shop patron. Shaun McHale as Mr Sugden and Mr Porter. Debbie Evans as Mrs Macdowall, Mrs Fenton and the Librarian. Mark Hone as the Youth Employment Officer.

This is a very powerful and dramatic production, superbly directed by Liz Cooper. A first-class cast, with excellent northern accents and many humorous lines all made this a successful play. It was great to watch so many young people perform in a very powerful drama.

The back projections ensured that the audience always knew the whereabouts of the action taking place. The minimalistic set also worked perfectly, and Rotherham Rep should be very proud of this production. It was certainly appreciated judging by the loud applause at the end.

Thank you for the invite and a great evening out.

 

Sue Cox

NODA N.E Drama Rep Region 14.

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