Wind in the Willows

I was delighted to return to Kingsley Community Centre recently to see Kingsley Players 2023 opening production of Wind in the Willows the Musical. This musical is one of my favourites. It has such sweet and memorable songs (George Stiles), as well as a decent book too by Julian Fellows. This production, directed by Lynn Pegler, didn’t disappoint. Lynn’s eye for detail and storytelling, meant that audience members who know the story of this classic tale, we able to see these famous characters coming to life. I liked to spacing throughout and the way in which the piece was directed. Scene changes were minimal and even then, mostly done behind the front cloth which meant that the overall pace was great too. Each character had their own costume and physicality trait which lended itself to each animal. I liked some of the animalistic qualities that actors brought, and there were some really sweet moments throughout such as the scenes with the Swallows and the family of Mice. The set, although minimalistic, was apt for the locations. I liked the use of projection screen for each location and all areas of the stage were used well to convey location and tone etc.

Arnold Ashbrook was the Musical Director for this piece and despite there being some lovely harmonies and tuning, it was clear that there was more work to be done with timing and musicality. This cast could’ve benefited from a larger band too to help with the overall musical. Whilst some of the individuals sounded great, I fear this was down to their own individual talent, rather than any clear musical direction. What did come across though was how much fun that Arnold was having playing this wonderful score and I could see him trying to conduct whilst playing – no mean feat.

A shout out has to go out to the fabulous costume team, Joan Barker, for your obvious hard work to establish and enhance character and characterisation through the use of costume. Your hard work has not gone unnoticed! Another notable mention must go to the properties team (Jane Woodhams and Ann Crawford) for their wonderful work. The boat scenes were fabulous, and I loved your version of the horse’s carriage!

The Protagonist, Mr Toad was brilliantly played by David Lee. David brough qualities to this role that I’ve never seen before, which meant that he was fresh and new. David was able to get the audience on his side from the beginning and was thoroughly entertaining throughout. Poop poop!

Jo Oultram played the role of Rat. Whilst I wasn’t a fan of Rat’s make-up (it was too dark for me), Jo was well cast in this role. I liked some of the rat-like qualities that Jo brought and her rapport with Mole was brilliant. Jo always has really good diction and storytelling and this was evident again for this performance. A really pleasing interpretation of this character.

Kate Burge as Mole was a standout performance. Kate’s energy, storytelling and stage presence was brilliant and this was a great showcase of her talent. Kate had some lovely vocals too and it was a pleasure to watch her throughout.

Sue Elliot’s Mrs Otter was great to watch too. Sue had some lovely moments throughout and worked well with everyone on stage.

The baddies of Chief Weasel and lesser Weasel were played by David Snow and George Jenkinson respectively. David had some nice moments of command and was well cast. Despite a little too much shouting acting from George, I cannot fault his commitment and energy. I also really liked and believed both David and George’s rapport with each other.

Dylan White had a great stage presence as the wise Badger. I liked the way in which he used his physicality to convey status and the way in which he used his voice to convey wisdom – a nice performance.

All the other characters positively contributed to the plot and to the production values. I loved the Hedgehog moments which brought much joy. The Hedgehog’s Nightmare song was delightful!

I also loved the beautiful swallows who not only looked graceful but sang wonderfully to during One Swallow Does Not A Summer Make. The energy from all of the Wild Wooders was fab and it’s clear that the cast, particularly the younger cast, were having the best time on stage! The family of Mice were SO cute! Well done to Kelly White for your efforts with this large family!

The production was lovely to watch. I really enjoyed the essence of friendship and the way in which the production values of this large musical were stripped back to focus on plot, character and themes of friendship etc. Some things which is often missed.

I thank Kingsley Players for their hospitality and wish them all the very best for their next productions of Model Behaviour in March 2023, The Importance of Being Earnest, May 2023 and Babe, The Sheep Pig in July 2023.

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