Wind in the Willows
The
Tap dancing mice, singing rabbits, ducks doing the Can-Can, hand-springing hedgehogs (with incredible hair!) punk ferrets with mohicans and knuckle-dusters, gansta rapping stoats … plus old friends Ratty, Mole, Badger and the pesky Mr Toad: the Lower School production of ‘The Wind in the Willows’ was a feast of furry fun, perfect for creature loving audiences of all ages amid stunning staging that transported us to the river and woodland.
Will Pinder as Toad was a magnificent dapper young dandy with serious sartorial style! Nobody was putting this Toad in the Hole – he was glorious as a petulant toddler, rugby tackling Ratty then having a hissy fit tantrum on the floor, as a wheelchair Jensen Button, as a hypochondriachal old thespian Laurence Olivier–style; all before leaping into Wacky Races mode, Penelope Pit-stop dressed as a Washerwoman, with voluminous skirt and green feet; then in a stripy prison onesie The characters we all know and love were beautifully depicted by the talented young cast. throwing Ninja moves … he was a toad for all seasons, a naughty-but-nice loveable rogue who Moley was a sweet, kind-hearted innocent in kept us chortling from beginning to end. Harry Potter glasses, adorably played by Izzy Hughes, Emma Botterill and Amelia Newton. There were show-stealingly glorious cameo Ratty (brilliantly performed by Angus Govier, performances throughout: Albert the horse (Tom Thomas Crawford and James Carney) was Gregory) was a hilarious, melancholy Brummy, a jolly, nautical chap, an old seafarer with a passion for grammatical correctness and social lamenting the cruelty of the world, Eeyore style: etiquette (‘Napkin first, Moley’ …‘It’s teach ‘em ‘One carrot and they think you’re anyone’s.’ Otter – not learn ‘em’). Meanwhile Josh Bernald-Ross (Issy Hodge) was a fussy matriarch in Victorian bathing suit, trying to teach her hapless offspring as Old Badger was remarkable: a doddery old to swim - Henry Skinner’s cute and cuddly Portly man in his dressing gown, cantankerous then in his rubber ring and giant orange armbands was pontificating, before dancing off to reform the hilarious. troublesome Mr Toad. There were Jazz Age dances, slo-mo car crashes, ‘Keystone Cops’ chase scenes, ‘Wacky Races’ car-crash moments and of course a big show-down at the end. High octane, energetic and gloriously inventive, this show bought Kenneth Grahame’s beloved childhood classic gloriously and unforgettably to life in the Wroughton Theatre!
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