Kes At Theatre by the Lake, Keswick Review

Reviewed by Jo Hardy

I’m sure many people will be familiar with “Kes” the classic novel written by Barry Hines in 1968 it has been used in GCSE English courses for a long time and was later also made into a film, but this show that has been adapted for stage by Robert Alan Evans takes the story to another level.  The big question for me was “ how are they going to show us the kestrel?  The set is two tiered but very simple with very few props and not much colour.   The costumes are also very simple.  With a cast of only three this show is all about the writing and the acting.  When the show starts the house lights are kept on for a while.  It’s very quiet with just the “kestrel” staring at us from the top level of the set.

Jake Dunn plays the main character Billy, a young boy with a very troubled life both at home and at school.  He finds friendship and purpose in a kestrel.  My heart went out to Billy.  There were times a wanted to jump onto the stage a give him a hug.

Harry Egan – “The Man “ plays multiple characters –  mum, brother, teacher switching quickly from one character to another and making each one strong and distinctive and often very funny.  The part where he was the teacher and walked around the audience talking to them as if they were his pupils in the classroom really made me laugh out loud.

Nishla Smith is the singer but also represents the kestrel in the show.  Her voice is beautiful and has a surreal quality to it.  She sings a few small snippets of songs throughout her performance but it was the song she performs at the end of the show that I thought was the most amazing and so full of emotion.

The show is only 60 minutes long with no intermission.  It’s 60 minutes packed with strong acting and strong story telling.  They manage to fit in all the important parts of the story and an intermission would of broken the flow. This story gives out an important message about bullies, friendships and finding your passion.

When the show ended there was huge applause from the audience.  For me at the end of the show I was stunned by the beauty and intensity of what I had just seen and replayed it over in my head many times on my way home.

Suitable for ages 13 and over.

Kes is showing at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick from 6th April to 30th April.  It’s a co-production with the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

Ticket prices range from £10 to £39 and are available from theatrebythelake.com.

If your visiting the lake district this Easter put this show on your things to see list.

Rating: 5/5