BEWITCHED, ENTRANCED, FASCINATED!

Hautlieu’s magical take on Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows heralds a triumphant return to school drama productions.

Hautlieu school drama productions resumed this year after a 3-year break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This production of The Wind in the Willows, adapted by Alan Bennett was staged by a company of 18 students from Years 10 to 12, a further six musicians, and a student production crew of about a dozen.

The audience was taken on a magical journey along the Riverbank and deep into the Wildwood with the help of Mr Toad, Ratty, Badger, Moley, and their friends.

The immersive staging, soundscape, and riverbank floor projections, along with the exquisite display of shadow puppetry, was directed by Head of Drama, Emma O’Prey with Drama teacher Mark Jones heading up the puppetry division.

The set pieces – including a rowing boat, a gypsy caravan, a vintage racing car, a steam train, canal barge and Ratty and Badger’s pop-up-book homes – were beautifully crafted by the Hautlieu site team and painted by the Art department.

The exciting adventure included Toad’s escape from jail to retake Toad Hall from the scheming Weasels, culminating in an impressive food fight and brawl.

We spoke to members of the cast, Amelie, Ella and Maria who said that they “really enjoyed getting to know people better and make new friends”, there was “a strong community feeling” in the production team and that everyone was “really supportive of each other”.

They said they would highly recommend taking part in a school production as it “helps you build confidence and learn new skills” and that they would definitely aim to take part in the next school production.

The show received a euphoric reception from audiences on all three performance nights including a schools’ matinee for local primary children.