Wind in the Willows

Thank you for inviting me to your production of The Wind in the Willows, a new version that takes a modern approach to the old favourite Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham. It tells the tale of fussy Mole, easy-going Rat, paternal Badger, and their problems with pesky Mr Toad. The rascally Wild Woodlanders add a cheeky slice of menace to the proceedings and a range of other furry and feathered friends join in to support Rat and Toad and Badger in their endeavours to rescue Toad. 

The director had ensured that the cast understood their characters and had developed animalistic movement and gestures which were natural and not over the top. The principals worked very well together and there were some really excellent characterisations. An interesting element of the show was the inclusion of several mini scenes and musical numbers involving the woodland creatures which peppered the narrative. This gave the chance for many of the ensemble to have step forward parts both to act and sing and they certainly made the most of the opportunity.

There was a lot of energy and liveliness when the whole cast were on stage, but developing more movement and interaction in some of the smaller musical numbers particularly when delivered in front of the tabs would have led to fewer static moments and to the links between scenes being more cohesive. 

The balance of the voices was in the 29 musical numbers was good and in the most part they blended well together. There were some lovely harmonies and when the group sang together there was a lovely rich sound. The 12-piece band under the MD’s direction was excellent giving great support to the singers.

The simple yet interesting choreography routines were engaging and made good use of repeated patterns which were extremely effective and well executed by the cast. The dance for “We’re Taking Over the Hall” was particularly effective with the clever use of chairs and the choreographed use of torches was a very interesting addition in the search for toad.

As a whole, the production shone with colour, humour and poignancy and it was very clear that all the cast were thoroughly enjoying themselves on stage.

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