Wind in the Willows

What a splendid summer evening and a great setting for performing this open air production. The Wind in the Willows is a perfect play to perform outside and Manor Theatre are a great company for stretching their talent, and this was an excellent choice. I have read their superb programme from cover to cover and am staggered at the effort displayed by their members.

Regarding the actual production, sadly it lacked pace which made it drag at times and made it rather long. This may have been caused by the many changes in venue which lead to a degree of uncertainty in the cast.  Also the scene changes took a little too long but the enthusiasm of the performers went a long way towards compensating for these short comings.

Every member of the cast performed well, knew their lines and obviously enjoyed their very varied roles. There were far too many to mention them all by name but I must pick out a few for their outstanding efforts. Andrew Bates not only played Toad, he also wrote the play in conjunction with Roger Kidd who played the horse. Their script was a delight with so many amusing lines and a great collection of songs which they also wrote, composed the music and sung. What an outstanding effort. Jonathan Hope was excellent as Badger. He looked the part with his great choice of costume and convincing make-up and everything about the way he moved and spoke was Badger as I have always pictured him. Suzanne Page played Ma Weasel and also assisted with the directing. The weasels are expected to be a strong force to be reckoned with and she certainly was! Her presence filled the stage area with her powerful voice and commanding character. There were many other good performances, so well done everyone.

I was very impressed with the Sound Engineer, Simon Garland, as every word could be heard clearly despite being staged in the garden. I understand he also made most of the wonderful props which included a barge, a train, a car and a caravan amongst others.  All of these were painted by Laine Watson who also made many appearances during the performance as Mrs Hedgehog.

This is one of the most versatile societies in the whole of my region. Here’s to their next production, Snow White.

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