Skip to main content
A Kes that fails to take flight

Kes
West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds/Touring
3/5

WHEN Barry Hines died in March he was hailed by many as capturing the authentic voice of Yorkshire, a spirit that Robert Alan Evans has stayed true to in his adaptation of the Barnsley author’s most famous work, Kes.

Anyone expecting to see kestrels or an approximation of Ken Loach’s much-loved 1969 film will be disappointed because Evans offers a much more impressionistic version of the story. Performed by just two actors, it follows Billy Casper’s working-class hero with the benefit of nostalgic hindsight.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
venus and adonis
Theatre Review / 23 June 2026
23 June 2026

GEORGE FOGARTY is dazzled by a breathtakingly skillful puppet version of Shakespeare’s greatest love poem

MILES
Theatre Review / 10 February 2026
10 February 2026

MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about a two-handed theatrical homage to jazz’s most mercurial musician

cyrano
Theatre review / 8 October 2025
8 October 2025

GORDON PARSONS is blown away by a superb production of Rostand’s comedy of verbal panache and swordmanship

cry
Theatre review / 1 August 2025
1 August 2025

SIMON PARSONS is beguiled by a dream-like exploration of the memories of a childhood in Hong Kong