Kes, Sheffield Crucible, theatre review
This unique production hits every note near-perfectly
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The gritty story of life on a 1960s housing estate in the South Yorkshire coalfield is among the more unlikely subjects to be turned into a balletic, dance-theatre production.
Kes was Ken Loach’s second film – with a screenplay written by Barry Hines author of A Kestrel for a Knave on which is was based. Viewed today it remains a masterclass in social commentary for an age on the brink of being lost in the industrial showdowns of the following decades.
What is so extraordinary about Barnsley-born choreographer and director Jonathan Watkins’s witty and moving adaptation is the grace and beauty which he imparts into such bleak circumstances – an everyday life faithfully and unromantically imagined but one where the human spirit still battles to soar free.
True some of the rough, thieving edges are knocked off Billy Casper but it is impossible not to feel deeply for the lad who is unhappy at home, a prisoner at school and for whom the sports field offers just another form of mud-soaked adult tyranny.
That is until he finds, or more accurately takes from a nest, a fledgling kestrel that he trains and nurtures. Boy and bird enjoy a profoundly touching relationship – the tamed raptor offering liberation from the monotony of the classroom and the inevitability of pit life.
It is a respite all too brief, however, when Billy falls foul of his bullying older brother who is already toiling in the colliery. Their relationship – the clash between manhood and boyishness – both tender and violent, is heartbreakingly depicted.
This unique production hits every note near-perfectly, bringing together an insistent and compelling new musical score, ravishing movement, puppetry and top notch performances to create a really special and fast-moving experience – even for those who turned up expecting a more traditional telling of this classic tale.
To 5 April
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments