One Touch Theatre, Eden Court, Inverness, 20 September 2011

IT IS always a challenge to condense a well-known, well-loved book or film to fit within the confines of a theatre space.

To try this with “Kes”, which is not only both a well-known film and a well-loved book  (Barry Hines’ A Kestrel for a Knave) but also has as one of the main characters a small bird of prey, sounds like an act of madness.

Sean Murray and Anthony Pearson in Kes (© Paul Watt)

Catherine Wheels not only succeeded on all counts but did so while reducing the cast of around a dozen to just two actors. They also succeeded in grabbing and holding the attention of a predominantly school-age capacity audience who were noticeably excited and restless – until the houselights went down.

Billy, neglected even by his mother, bullied by his brother, undermined at school, is an unlikely hero. Rob Evans’ script pared away all extraneous detail to reveal the timeless story of redemption and survival.

By using a choreographer (Janice Parker), director Gill Robertson drew assured, confident physical performances from James Anthony Pearson (Billy) and Sean Murray (Man) which conjured from nowhere the full cast and, most magically and triumphantly, Kes herself.

The two actors climbed and scrambled, lunged and rolled, hid and ran, soared and swooped with tireless grace. Billy’s paper-round in the Yorkshire mining town was simply but memorably evoked with Billy being shadowed at full tilt by his older self but it was the graceful recreation of the hovering bird that will linger longest in the memory.

The skills of designer Karen Tennent, lighting designer Jeanine Davies and film maker Jonathan Charles were a vital part of the play’s transformations.

Catherine Wheels’ production demonstrated, simply and effectively, how theatre can set a fire in young people’s imaginations. More, please.

© Jennie Macfie, 2011

Links

• Catherine Wheels
• Jennie Macfie