The Wind in the Willows

This lovely adaptation by Alan Bennett of the classic Kenneth Grahame story gives a modern twist to each of the main protagonists, so that Rat becomes an educated, upper class, slightly pedantic character; Mole is an innocent abroad and appreciative of everything; Badger is worldly wise, an authority figure, yet slightly grumpy; Albert, the horse, is rather like a shop steward from Birmingham but without the conviction; but Toad remains irrepressibly and lovably bumptious. These five main characters represented three quarters of the action and dialogue and held the stage as the smaller characters interjected or helped push the plot along.  This was a very strong core cast that had no problem with diction, audibility or credibility.  Some of the peripheral characters, perhaps less experienced, were not always easily heard and could work on their projection.  Talking of projections, those used for scenes from the riverbank or of Toad Hall were very clever and worked well, with the hinged flats providing extra interest or additional visual cues as to where the action was located. Good use was made of the auditorium for entrances and exits and there were some innovative costume touches, such as the wetsuits and snorkels for the otters early in Act 1.  I particularly liked Toad’s green make up that was lightly done rather than making him look like Shrek. The other characters were dressed more in line with their personalities than their animal features and that worked well enough although I sometimes felt that the visual impact would have been more striking had there been slightly more costume bias towards the animal rather than the human element. Badger’s costume and hair was very effective, for example. I do recognize that this is a very subjective area and also has financial implications. The sound and lighting effects were good and together with the projections, including the snowstorm, the technicals worked well.  This was an enjoyable production that gave good opportunity for the experienced actors to develop their craft while providing some newcomers with a first taste of the stage.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.