The Wind in The Willows, Shakespeare North Playhouse Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Alison Rood
Earlier in the year, the Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescott, announced The Wind in the Willows as their Christmas production.
With the help of Toby Hulse, Julia Samuels and an amazing cast to boot, Kenneth Grahame’s beloved children’s classic was brought to life in the amazing cockpit.
For anyone who hasn’t visited this theatre before, you’re in for a treat. The round centre stage gives the audience a closer view of the performances and creates a truly intimate atmosphere.
For the purpose of this production, the round is purposed as a wooden log. As the story progresses we see it evolve to become Toad Hall, a river and even the inside of a tin can! All done very cleverly with the use of simple, but effective props and lighting. My 5 year old commented that “the river looks so real!”
The Wind in the Willows follows the journey of Mole, Toad, Badger and Ratty – beautifully covering topics such friendship, courage and conservation.
Despite his vanity, self-absorption and reluctance accept that he is not human, Mr Toad has a certain charm about him and it’s impossible to dislike him. Dean Boodaghians can take full credit for this! He was simply hilarious. Even when Toad was being a pain in the proverbial, Dean’s portrayal kept the character likeable. He also encouraged a huge amount of audience participation and really engaged with us. His hip hop song and his actions in the “slow mo” scene were amongst my favourite parts of the show.
Badger could be equally as contemptuous at certain points (“Company? Pah!) but again, Jenny Murphy kept the character likeable.
Mole (Katie Erich) and Ratty (Grace Goulding) were probably the more consistently cheerful characters and worked together brilliantly in their many “duo scenes”
Whilst I’m mentioning Grace, a special note must be made for the fact that she was actually a stand in for an original cast member. She may have been script in hand, but vary rarely did she have to reference it. She was amazing.
Along with Mr Toad, any character played by Oluwalonimi Owoyemi was also a favourite of mine. Be it a red squirrel or a rabbit, he just brought so much sass and energy to each animal.
The talented cast are not only actors, but also musicians. And the show features varied and catchy tunes and wonderfully played instruments. I particularly liked Bryony Maguire’s hand organ pieces.
The Red Squirrel was definitely the best costume of the show. The costumes were probably my only criticism of the show. I know it can be difficult to represent animals without big, demobilising costumes – but I did feel that they could have been a little more “animally”. The only sign that Ratty was a rat was a long rope tail. And Mole, well a that one was even more obscure.
But all in all it was a lovely, cosy, heart-warming show. One that kept adults and kids alike entertained.
One more thing to add – ticket prices start at £3! So the value for money is fantastic when you consider that the run time is over two hours, making it a truly affordable family day out. Tickets to this show would also make a wonderful Christmas gift considering that the show runs into the New Year.
Rating; 4/5
Ticket prices start at £3 and are available from https://shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk/event/the-wind-in-the-willows/
The show is open now and runs until 13th Jan.
Shakespeare North Playhouse
Prospero Place,
Prescot,
L34 3AB