The Wind in the willows

Arriving in plenty of time, we were warmly welcomed by the front of house team and took our places in the auditorium looking forward to a good evening's entertainment by a talented Youth Theatre. This is the new version of The Wind in the Willows, being re-written by Julian Fellows.

The thirteen piece orchestra started at a good pace and made a great sound, and at just the right volume too, Raw Sound doing a great job of getting the balance just right in a traditionally difficult to sound theatre. An open set with flats to the side and the bulk of the staging to the rear was enhanced by some inventive and well programmed lighting.

One of the positives that always pleases is the quality of the choreography. With a large cast aged between seven and seventeen this is some feat but Summer Hughes with her chorographical skill achieves just that. Aimed at the right skill sets it's always engaging and with the younger cast simplicity is the effective key, and it is. For the older cast it was a little more challenging, and that's how it should be, but each cast member attacked the routines with great enthusiasm. This came over very well into the auditorium: a well rehearsed cast that were enjoying themselves. 

The principles were very confidently led by Will Vokes as Toad and very ably backed up by Sam Head as Badger, Sam Fitzsimmons as Mole and Josh Elway as Rat. They all interacted well with each other and told the story well. Add to that Jack Fenner as the chief Weasel (an accomplished dancer in his own right) with Cerys May as the Lesser Weasel, Eva Perraton as Sheryl Stoat and Fleur Barker as Portia, you had a very accomplished and engaging line up. This is not to overlook the rest of the Rabbits, Hares, Squirrels, Hedgehogs, Otters, Field Mice, Foxes, Weasels and Stoats. It is a large cast but the staging didn't looked cramped or untidy. Again a testament to Mike Mullen as Director of his team.

The costume team, led by Nicki Moorhouse, must have worked long and hard into (many) nights I should imagine, there were hundreds of them! The result was brilliant, clean tidy, well fitting and enhancing the whole show. Hats off (literally I think)

Overall this was a very creditable performance, one I enjoyed immensely and one that deserves all the plaudits and no criticisms. Well done CPYT

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