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F<\/span><\/strong><\/span>or<\/span><\/strong> more than 30 years from the mid-1960s, BBC storytelling programme Jackanory <\/em>featured the stars of the day, from Kenneth Williams to Bernard Cribbins, reading stories aloud \u2013 with the counterintuitive aim of encouraging young viewers to actually stop watching those square TVs and pick up a book instead. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n Now, almost 30 years later, the spirit of the series lives on in BBC Four\u2019s The <\/em>Read, <\/em>this time reimagined to introduce adults to iconic British novels. Sam Selvon\u2019s The <\/em>Lonely <\/em>Londoners, <\/em>Bruce Chatwin\u2019s On <\/em>The <\/em>Black <\/em>Hill <\/em>and Louise Levine\u2019s A <\/em>Vision <\/em>of <\/em>Loveliness <\/em>have all been given this fresh treatment and now it\u2019s the turn of Barry Hines\u2019 seminal work A <\/em>Kestrel <\/em>for <\/em>a <\/em>Knave. <\/em><\/p>\n\n Filmed at Oldham Colliseum Theatre, Christopher Eccleston is the narrator and he himself acknowledges the impact Hines\u2019 coming-of-age novel has had on him. <\/p>\n\n \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t met Barry Hines\u2019 Billy Casper from the extraordinarily beautiful novel A <\/em>Kestrel <\/em>For <\/em>a <\/em>Knave, <\/em>I would have cared less about other people and I would not be an actor,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n It\u2019s easy to see why this book, first published in 1968, has such a profound effect on those who encounter it. Billy Casper\u2019s life in a South Yorkshire mining village is bleak; he is ridiculed and bullied at home and at school. The calming open fields of a nearby farm represent the blessed relief from his life\u2019s difficulties and the freedom Billy feels when connecting with his beloved kestrel, Kes. <\/p>\n\n A Kestrel for a Knave <\/em>is known as much as a staple school text as for Ken Loach\u2019s devastating 1969 film, Kes. <\/em>In The <\/em>Read, <\/em>Eccleston brilliantly guides the viewer through the heart-breaking cadence of Billy\u2019s life as he grapples with his harsh day-to-day existence. As narrator, the actor gives voice to Billy, to his overpowering brother Jed, their world-weary Mum and caring but frustrated teacher Mr Farthing, skilfully painting the claustrophobic world the teenager occupies. <\/p>\n\n It\u2019s the freedom that Billy finds training his newly found kestrel that underpins Hines\u2019 narrative. The passion of falconry is palpable when the schoolboy demonstrates his newfound skills to his teacher in the farm\u2019s fields. The confidence he has in his own ability and the connection to the young kestrel gives the reader hope that our protagonist can escape his reality. <\/p>\n\n When Billy flies Kes, he is completely happy in nature and in control of it. Hines uses the swooping outstretched wings of the bird to represent freedom, in juxtaposition to the daily trudge of his young master. But this story is more than just an exploration of hope and innocence. In Ecclestone\u2019s narration, the viewer understands the hopelessness of the system Billy finds himself in; and the lack of opportunity and encouragement acts as the schoolboy\u2019s own restricted birdcage. <\/p>\n\n \u201cWhen Billy flies Kes, he is completely happy in nature\u201d <\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n <\/p>\n\n Spoiler alert: although there can be few people who aren\u2019t aware of the tragic consequences following his brother Jed\u2019s intervention with Billy\u2019s kestrel, the death of the hawk is, of course, a turning point in the book, as it is in The Read\u2019s <\/em>adaptation. It sums up that crush of a dream. Everything seemed to be going so well. Although, of course, in reality for Billy it wasn\u2019t. His cherished hobby may have lifted his spirits, but Hines argues it did nothing to elevate his circumstances or long-term prospects.<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n Author Hines was born in 1939 in South Yorkshire near Barnsley, where he recognised the importance of the countryside as a rich contrast to the narrowness of the industrial life of the mining community. It\u2019s no accident that the pastoral breath of fresh air in A <\/em>Kestrel <\/em>for <\/em>a <\/em>Knave <\/em>serves as balance to the trials of Billy\u2019s life. <\/p>\n\n Having a story read to you is incredibly personal and this series continues that tradition of the narrator holding the gaze of the listener and viewer while the narrative unfolds. Why wouldn\u2019t you believe every word that\u2019s being told in such an impactful way? Imaginatively visualised by emerging directors working closely with executive producer Grant Black from Hereford-based Rural Studios, the stories featured in <\/span>The <\/em>Read <\/em>are chosen carefully. Of course, they have a beginning, middle and end but they also have compelling characters and a narrative structure to draw the audience in.<\/span><\/p>\n\n A Kestrel for a Knave <\/em>ends on a sad note, but despite being devoid of hope, the reader is left with a willing for Billy to move on from his circumstances and succeed. Having found his passion for the natural world in Kes, the hope is that other joys lie ahead. I hope that the stories of The Read <\/em>will have a similar effect, encouraging viewers not only to explore the other featured novels in the series but also to search out fantastic reads themselves.<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n Other episodes of BBC Four\u2019s The Read, <\/em>including Louise Levine\u2019s A Vision of Loveliness <\/em>and Sid Chaplin\u2019s <\/span>The Day of the Sardine, <\/em>are currently available on BBC iPlayer.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n Stephen James-Yeoman is commissioning editor of The Read<\/em> as well as other BBC Arts and Classical Music programmes, such as the BBC Proms. This September, Christopher Eccleston narrates A Kestrel for a Knave for BBC Four\u2019s The Read<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":29795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"62","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"62","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_62-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_62-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"September-2023","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"September-2023","purple_external_id":"September-2023-62-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"September-2023-62-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000084073||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000084073||","purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.207","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.207","purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.207","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.207","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"91da22fd-9e7f-40d1-a93f-fc46e9516d91","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-08-24T08:24:25Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"9d19985a-2402-48f5-8cb6-869d8d52211b","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-08-24T10:23:48Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnRmYWiQCSPWMtoadjVIhGw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[20],"tags":[14],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/08\/51936c8d-b00a-4db8-afc6-c523d5141c8e.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/08\/51936c8d-b00a-4db8-afc6-c523d5141c8e.jpg",1471,956,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/08\/51936c8d-b00a-4db8-afc6-c523d5141c8e-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/08\/51936c8d-b00a-4db8-afc6-c523d5141c8e-300x195.jpg",300,195,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/08\/51936c8d-b00a-4db8-afc6-c523d5141c8e-768x499.jpg",768,499,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/08\/51936c8d-b00a-4db8-afc6-c523d5141c8e-1024x665.jpg",800,520,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/08\/51936c8d-b00a-4db8-afc6-c523d5141c8e.jpg",1471,956,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/08\/51936c8d-b00a-4db8-afc6-c523d5141c8e.jpg",1471,956,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"This September, Christopher Eccleston narrates A Kestrel for a Knave for BBC Four\u2019s The Read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29799"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29799"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30364,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29799\/revisions\/30364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}FLIGHT OF FREEDOM <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
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WILD COMFORT <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
\n\nDon\u2019t miss<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n
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