Billy Casper is 15 years old. Bullied at school and unhappy at home, he doesn’t fit in.

But when Billy comes across a wild kestrel and realises he can train her, he discovers a new life above the small Northern mining town in which he lives. Together they learn to fly and Billy finds friendship and hope – until one snap decision and an unplaced bet change things forever.

Kes is the story of Billy’s heart. How it came to beat and how it came to break.

The Jack Studio Theatre presents the Off West End premiere of this powerful adaptation of Barry Hines’s much-loved modern classic, A Kestrel for a Knave. Produced by the same team behind The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, The Haunting and Shipwrecked!

Press for previous productions

Equally humorous and mysterious… this delightful production is nothing short of a tour de force. ★★★★★ London Theatre1

one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in ages… wonderfully daft and inventive. ★★★★★ Stage Review on Hound of the Baskervilles

a triumph of theatrical storytelling. ★★★★ The Stage on Shipwrecked! An Entertainment