Kes, a play based on Barry Hines’s book A Kestrel for a Knave, will soon be staged at Blue Box by Masquerade. Director Ian Moore talks about his personal connection to this much-loved story.
When theatre director Ian Moore was 11, the students in his school year were shown Ken Loach’s film Kes. His reaction to the screening changed the course of his life.
“I had known of Barry Hines’s book since I was seven or eight, but the film adaptation holds the strongest, if not the nicest, of memories,” Moore recalls.
“I was the only student out of more than 120 secondary school students to sob openly after watching it at school, a fact I was never allowed to forget.”
Moore suspects that his emotional response to Kes was responsible for the years of bullying he endured from then on.
“Certain individuals took great pleasure in trying to make my life very uncomfortable,” he says.
“There were veiled threats and unnecessary taunts and jibes. Although these are events from over four decades ago, they are as fresh today as they were when they took place. So it was quite refreshing to receive apologies from the majority of the perpetrators through social media, even after all this time.”
Sobbing at the end of a story like Kes is not entirely surprising. The story follows Billy Casper, a troubled working-class teenager who lives with his mother and half-brother Jud. Billy’s life is miserable, being bullied both at school by his teachers and at home by his spiteful half-brother. More misery awaits Billy when he finishes school, since his only prospect is that of working in the coal mines, just like Jud.
Ian Moore“However, even though it is a heartbreaking tale, it is also a tale of beauty,” Moore muses.
“It’s not all doom and gloom, and events are tempered with splashes of colourful humour. Billy lives in a repressive society and is surrounded by unsympathetic adults who threaten to break his spirit and drag him down into the life he dreads. But he finds solace and escapes through his painstaking rearing of a young kestrel in the unspoilt nature just beyond the seemingly endless red-brick rows.”
Although A Kestrel for a Knave had already been adapted for the stage several times, Moore wrote his own adaptation.
Sobbing at the end of a story like Kes is not entirely surprising- Ian Moore
“The previous stage versions were written to meet specific criteria present at the time for those reworking it, like the performance space, the cast size and budget. I felt I needed to adapt it and create a version for Blue Box,” Moore explains.
“The space suits the piece perfectly with its small, intimate auditorium and we will be exploring Billy Casper’s story in a way which we hope engages the audience fully.”
A cast of experienced actors and new faces will bring Masquerade’s version of Kes to life in a performance which Moore is sure will elicit nostalgic feelings in older members of the audience.
“Indeed, even younger members who are still at school will see something of their own life in the play,” Moore predicts.
“We have all had teachers we loved and loathed, and this tale shows us a flavour of each and every one. I would not be surprised if one or two were really touched by the piece; it is a moving story on an epic scale.”
Kes forms part of Out of the Blue, a programme that aims to rekindle an appreciation and passion for live theatre and is supported by Arts Council Malta. Performances will run from October 29 to November 7. Tickets can be bought from www.bluebox.com.mt. Seating is limited to 100 per night to abide by current guidelines. Suitable for an audience aged 13+.