FIRST a novel, then a film and now a play, Barry Hines’ story tells of Billy, a troubled and ill-treated boy who finds a tiny kestrel chick which soon becomes his best friend and transforms his unhappy life.

Just two men take on an array of roles in this Royal Manor Theatre production as they re-enact the past when the adult Billy goes back to the abandoned family home and a floodgate of memories is opened as he relives his boyhood with all its pain and pleasure.

With flashbacks to his brutal schooldays, a bullying older brother and the harsh Northcountry mining background into which he was born, Billy’s journey back to his childhood is an emotional experience both revealing and sometimes distressing to watch.

Mark Sampson-Vincent gives a powerful and totally believable performance as the adult Billy, changing roles with lightning speed to become a host of other characters, while Craig Ballard, in his first grown-up performance, shows great potential as a sensitive boy in an unsympathetic world where the love of his life is a caged bird that he teaches to fly free.

Jo Cheverton’s direction is imaginative and intelligent, bringing the atmosphere of the times to vivid life in a production that though short, is full of emotional depth and powerful symbolism.

The background music by Matt Swinhoe also plays a very important part in building the atmosphere of this most stimulating drama.

And the kestrel? Well, we don’t actually ever see the bird except through the descriptive passages of this memorable play that gives the audience plenty both to enjoy and to think about.

The production continues until Saturday.

See rmtcportland.co.uk for tickets or call 0333 666 3366.

MARION COX