KES

KES

Review in the Sunday Times of Malta on 14th November 2021 by Andre Delicata: “Masquerade delivers a strong production of a syllabus staple. Another triumph for Masquerade’’

“I watched Kes yesterday. It's a beautiful, heartbreaking play. The production did it justice, and featured an extraordinary performance by Alex Weenink. There's one last show tonight. Go watch. Take tissues” - Ann Demarco

“The last few days have brought me and Cecilia a couple of experiences that that took us briefly back to the old pre-COVID-19 days. One of these was watching and being held by a theatre production at Masquerade's Blue Box Theatre. The play was "Kes", Ian Moore's dramatisation of a novel by Barry Hines about a schoolboy in a mid-20th century Yorkshire school who escapes for a time from his unprepossessing home and school by training a young kestrel to fly. Moore himself directs this production using a cast of professionals and talented drama students. The dialogue is spoken in the unlovely Yorkshire dialect, but the production throbs with life. It held me, and at times it moved me. Alex Weenink plays the protagonist boy very strongly, Stephen Oliver, a fine veteran, as a sports master (just one of his five parts) produces the best laughs of the production as he mimics the distorted expressions and physical gestures of footballers seen in photographs, while Jayne Giordanella is the one good teacher in Billy's schol who understands him and encourages him. Despite my hearing problems, I enjoyed this production. Well done, Masquerade/Tony Bezzina!” - Dr. Paul Xuereb

“Stunning, brilliant, fascinating.

I went in not knowing what to expect and I was completely astounded. The actors were out of this world - I hope you never lose sight of how mindblowing your talent is. It was absolutely perfect and I can't put into words how thankful I feel to have attended this play. Beautiful work! You made me love this story even more. I'm so proud of everyone behind it, even though I don't know any of you personally. I was fully immersed in it such that I forgot I was in a theatre and I forgot that I was in Imsida haha. I enjoyed every moment of it. It was a wholesome journey, a one-of-a-kind emotional rollercoaster and an experience I'll never forget. I truly appreciate all of your hard work to make this happen - Thank you Wishing all of you more success.” - Francesca Gauci

“It's an excellent performance and not to be missed! We were impressed by the brilliant acting skills- the characters took us on a journey with them- a roller coaster of emotions. The students and educators of Savio College were captivated by the story and also got to appreciate the theatrical experience. Top notch! Well done to the director, to the actors, to the backstage crew and to the organisers!’’ - Janine Caruana

“I saw the play last night and really loved it! Thank you so much for offering us a real drama! It was a very long time I didn't laugh and cry while watching one piece of art. The most emotional part for me was the voices in Billy's head. I was also impressed by the alternate silence and voices during the football match, it gives an amazing impression, and was very well executed! Thanks again to all the cast and crew!’’ - HW

“I watched Kes yesterday. It's a beautiful, heart-breaking play. The production did it justice and featured an extraordinary performance by Alex Weenink. There's one last show tonight. Go watch. Take tissues.’’ – Ann Demarco

“We watched KES on Sunday, well done for a great production. Wonderful to see some real intimate and emotional theatre again - everything worked – acting (Alex was great and it is not an easy part), set, props, music, lights... and I did not expect a wooden puppet KES to evoke so much emotion and it was very tastefully done. It is also a great script and great direction of course. J Well done!” – Mike Basmadjan

“The forte of this production in my opinion lies in the acting and the doubling. All performed admirably and the doubling was executed most convincingly. This kind of production certainly does not happen by itself, on the contrary it needs talent, time and a focussed cast of players” Tony Cassar Darien

KES formed part of the OUT OF THE BLUE project supported by