The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows is a musical written by Julian Fellowes, with music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, based on the  novel of the same name by Kenneth Grahame. The story follows the impulsive Mr. Toad whose has an insatiable need for speed. Ratty, Mole and Badger try to help him but eventually he lands himself in serious trouble and he is imprisoned. With his beloved home under threat, from the Notorious Chief Weasel and his gang of Wild Wooders, Toad must attempt a daring escape, which leads to a series of misadventures, in order to recapture Toad Hall. The four main characters of Toad, Mole, Rat and Badger were all excellent and ideally suited to their respective roles. Toad was brilliantly portrayed by Tony Wain. He totally captured the extrovert, exuberant, bumptious and irrepressible nature of Toad to perfection. Everything about his performance - acting, singing, comic timing, was top notch and he certainly excelled when going ‘undercover’ as a washerwoman! I loved the representation of Mole by Thomas Bailey. For someone so young to be able to deliver such a delightful, charming and naive characterization in both acting and singing was just superb. Rat, being the sensible one of this pairing, was splendidly, and so effortlessly played by Michael Bailey, a great performance. Andrew Bailey was very imposing, controlled and impressive as the wise Badger. His singing of ‘A Friend is still a Friend’ was first-rate. Cole Owen was in his element playing the Chief Weasel as a ‘cockney spiv’ and terrific support came from all of the other named characters, too many for me to mention them all by name. The Otter Swimming Club, The Quartet (terrific singing), The Swallows, Policemen, Rabbits, Mice, Squirrels, Voles, Foxes, Weasels and Stoats were all delightful and I was very impressed by the excellent ‘ensemble’ singing throughout and accompanying choreography. Simple sets were magnificently enhanced by the props especially the innovative and creative car, caravan and boat - just super. Every accolade must also go to the Costume Team. Everything was made, remade or reused and to carry this out for all the various characters and ‘animals’ was indeed a mammoth task and the results were stunning. Great make-up, appropriate lighting, good sound and an excellent nine piece orchestra all added to make this a most enjoyable and fun show. My congratulations to the Production Team, to everyone ‘behind the scenes’ and to the wonderful cast. Oh, but did all the mishaps that befell Toad change him for the better, well, at the end of the show his face appeared in a ‘rocket’ no less, that then found its way across the stage - so no!!!!  Marlpool Theatre Company certainly ‘Took Over This Hall’ - well done!

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