On Tuesday 6th November, GCSE, AS Level and A Level Drama students with our friends from A Level Literature, went to see a performance of ‘Kes’, directed by Chris Beckett and Peter Mitchell, in the Salon Varieties Theatre in Fuengirola.
From the moment we met scruffy, under-nourished Billy (played superbly by Ben John ) struggling to get out of bed at the crack of dawn in the half-light, while his violent brother got ready to go down the coal-.mine, we were there: in North Yorkshire, with the people of the poverty-stricken mining town.
We lived Billy’s life: hated his bullying brother and his disreputable mother, warmed to the resilient townsfolk, laughed with the school-children and felt the pain of the cane.
We felt hope for Billy’s future when he confided in the kindly teacher Mr.Farthing .
We shared Billy’s sensitivity with his kestrel and his joy when he trained her.
We were almost unbearably moved when Billy tenderly lifted the dead Kes from the rubbish bin, where his brother had thrown her, and as the play reached its inevitable tragic conclusion , we were all near to tears as Billy called to his long-gone dad to lift him high and not to let him fall.
Thank you to the cast for giving our students such a memorable evening, and for making us all think about just how lucky we are.
Lesley Langtry
Head of the English and Drama departments.
