PAUL DONOVAN is chilled by the contemporary resonance of Harper Lee’s coming of age tale amidst racism and white supremacy in this excellent production
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.
GEORGE FOGARTY is dazzled by a breathtakingly skillful puppet version of Shakespeare’s greatest love poem
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about a two-handed theatrical homage to jazz’s most mercurial musician
GORDON PARSONS is blown away by a superb production of Rostand’s comedy of verbal panache and swordmanship
SIMON PARSONS is beguiled by a dream-like exploration of the memories of a childhood in Hong Kong


