On Thursday 26th May 2016, my drama group and I visited the West Yorkshire Playhouse’s ‘Courtyard Theatre’ to watch a production of ‘Kes’. The production was based on the book ‘A Kestrel for a Knave’, written by Barry Hines, and was directed by Amy Leach. The book was adapted for the stage by Robert Alan Evans to be performed by the West Yorkshire Playhouse.
Prior to the production, the director, Amy Leach, wanted to create an abstract and original piece, allowing the audience to feel sorry for Billy, the main character in the story. Amy wanted to create a unique and fresh adaptation of Kes, using a minimalistic cast, and to stimulate and provoke the audience’s imagination. This was done with an imaginary bird, as opposed to using a real bird, …show more content…
There were also no major costume changes throughout the performance. The multi-role actor changed some of his props, such as using a handbag to play the mother and using a cane to become the teacher, however these were only in the beginning of the performance, and did not make the production look patchy, as the changes and additions were done smoothly, and while the other actor was saying something, so that the audience’s attention was not brought to the character changing his costume. The costumes were plain so that the actor playing multiple roles could use the same costume for all of his roles. Billy kept putting on and taking off a green coat, which was used to show whether he was inside or outside. By having his hood up, Billy was able to show his defiance to his mum and brother, and that he does not want to be working in the mines like everyone else, but wants to be free instead. The clothes also looked dirty which showed the working class background of the family. The actor playing multiple-roles had a white shirt, jeans and black shoes so that he could play all the different roles using the same costume. By wearing the tie, Judd showed that he was higher in the hierarchy than Billy, who didn't even have clothes that fit him. The costume for Billy represented dullness and poverty in the
Prior to the production, the director, Amy Leach, wanted to create an abstract and original piece, allowing the audience to feel sorry for Billy, the main character in the story. Amy wanted to create a unique and fresh adaptation of Kes, using a minimalistic cast, and to stimulate and provoke the audience’s imagination. This was done with an imaginary bird, as opposed to using a real bird, …show more content…
There were also no major costume changes throughout the performance. The multi-role actor changed some of his props, such as using a handbag to play the mother and using a cane to become the teacher, however these were only in the beginning of the performance, and did not make the production look patchy, as the changes and additions were done smoothly, and while the other actor was saying something, so that the audience’s attention was not brought to the character changing his costume. The costumes were plain so that the actor playing multiple roles could use the same costume for all of his roles. Billy kept putting on and taking off a green coat, which was used to show whether he was inside or outside. By having his hood up, Billy was able to show his defiance to his mum and brother, and that he does not want to be working in the mines like everyone else, but wants to be free instead. The clothes also looked dirty which showed the working class background of the family. The actor playing multiple-roles had a white shirt, jeans and black shoes so that he could play all the different roles using the same costume. By wearing the tie, Judd showed that he was higher in the hierarchy than Billy, who didn't even have clothes that fit him. The costume for Billy represented dullness and poverty in the