WIND IN THE WILLOWS
Bloomsbury

This delightful production, true to the original book, now 100 years old, by Kenneth Grahame, manages to bridge the years and delight its young audience by creating a magical atmosphere.
It is a little Christmas miracle.
The enormously talented cast of six between them effortlessly manage to create the whole world of the Riverbank and the Wild Wood.
Alex Dower’s Water Rat is spot on, Robert Eliot’s Badger is full of the right kind of gravitas, Thomas Garvey’s Mole is sensible and humorous, and the musically gifted and villainously clever Neil Gore and Neil Sheffield are splendid as Toad and Chief Weasel.
Carrying the tale and dipping in and out of it as various supporting puppet characters as well as the Gaoler’s daughter, is Katy Bartrop, who has got to be a rising star.
The actors are supported by Steve Richards’ sophisticated and elegant direction, and by design that should be a model to anyone working on a modest budget, by Colin Winslow and Tania Bicat – although I wish we could have had a more substantial caravan for Toad’s pre-motor car fad. However, the ducks, rabbits and, especially, the gloriously-mad field mice almost steal the show. My only cavil is that the four principals might have represented a richer class mix than uniform toff – Toad has to be upper-class, but surely Rat, Mole and Badger could have been differentiated, especially for an audience of today’s children.
Nevertheless, this is a sensitive and attractive production which all the kids loved, and I would recommend it to anyone who has not chosen their panto.

020 7388 8822
Until 15 January