Billy’s journey of joy and sorrow

Kes, Oldham Coliseum.

THE gritty Northern play “Kes,” currently on stage at the Oldham Coliseum Theatre, evokes a whirlpool of emotions — in turn whipping up sympathy, sorrow, joy and laughter, anger and horror as the difficult young life of Billy Casper unfolds.

The misunderstood, neglected, youngster at the heart of the story, is bullied by his “cock-of-the-street” brother, Jud (Jake Norton); by school bully McDowall (James Wooldridge) and persecuted by exasperated head master Mr Gryce (Ged McKenna).

But when he happens upon a nest of kestrels and takes one home to care for, he discovers something which brings out the true Billy — a shining-eyed enthusiasm for another living being that is “fierce and wild, and cares naawt about anything.”

Twenty-two-year-old Adam Barlow does a magnificent job of playing Billy, a big part, much of which is acted alone on stage, and he finds little difficulty in drawing his audience into his world.

He is totally believable in this fast-paced play which flows seamlessly and swiftly, with characters leaving and entering at the same time as the sprightly Billy jumps from one to the other with a deft change of mood to fit every scene.

His command of the part has everyone in the audience on his side right from the word go, with smaller parts played by a handful of characters worthy of mention.

Paul Barnhill as Mr Farthing is well cast as the kind teacher who sees Billy is struggling with his lot and tries to help, and Christian Foster brought some levity to the play as schoolboy Anderson, who gives a delightful description of a childhood prank involving tadpoles and wellingtons. Anthony Bessick too earned his share of laughs with his portrayal of a youth worker, going through the motions of trying to engage Billy in thinking about a job, while the youngsters’ mind is far too preoccupied with the desperate trouble he is going to be in for bringing out his brother’s wrath.

“Kes,” an adaptation of Barry Hines’s classic novel “A Kestrel for a Knave,” is far from a feelgood play, and can be a little disturbing and very moving, but on the bright side it does show how someone can triumph over adversity against all the odds. Don’t expect to leave the theatre in a joyful mood, but “Kes,” the first production in the Coliseum’s new season, was thoroughly enjoyable, and certainly well worth seeing. To September 25.