REVIEW | The Wind In The Willows, Shakespeare North Playhouse
Written by Joseph
Disclaimer: We were invited to watch this performance in return for an honest review.
The Wind in the Willows is a show about friendship, joy, loving our planet and accepting who we are. It is a magical place where animals come to life in wondrous ways bringing laughter and awe to the captivated audience.
At the Shakespeare North Playhouse, their production is set in the round, on a beautiful stage of a giant tree trunk. The stage is sown with little treats, like light-up bullrushes, chimes and such, making the space feel very immediate and engaging.
The cast as a whole were outstanding, working together in perfect harmony, whilst also delivering fantastic individual performances.
Portraying animals on stage can be tricky, as it can end up being a bit overdone, however, this was done expertly, with enough texture of the animals, little anachronisms and quirks, whilst also remaining subtle, the essence of all the characters there, being let out in appropriate doses. Even the ensemble (Bryony Maguire) that had multiple roles, had each animal down so well, that you really believe that these animals really exist in this world. A particular highlight is a cameo from a BBC red squirrel (Oluwalonimi Owoyemi), whose costume is one I would love to play with!
The main core cast consists of Mole (Katie Eirich), Badger (Jenny Murphy), Toad (Dean Boodaghians Nolan) and Ratty (Grace Goulding) who stood in for the role with a script in her hand, barely used and expertly performed, extra credit goes to Grace for stepping in at last minute, you could barely notice that she had a script. Her characterisation of Ratty was so good that I would struggle to see anyone else play her now. Though I am sure that Keziah Joseph’s performance would be just as good, and we wish her well and hope she can return soon.
The others, had a great dynamic, working really well together with multiple varying textures and flavours of personality. This created a wonderful portrayal of what real friendship looks like, all bringing different things to the group.
I especially enjoyed Mr Toad, who was wonderfully eccentric and funny, loud, brash and infuriating at times, but Dean manages to bring an endearing quality to Mr Toad that could easily be lost, making him insufferable m. You know he is doing wrong but you can’t help but like him. Dean also expertly incorporated live interactions with the audience in the moment, which were unique and quite special, showcasing how magical live theatre can be.
Badger was also cantankerous but not so much so that you turned off, everyone was very likeable and that helped the audience go along with the show, even when it became total chaos!
The technical side of things was just as amazing, using the right amount of imagination and bringing something to life, it was beautifully staged and choreographed, with a sprinkling of Christmas at the end.
The only real criticism I had was at times when a lot of characters are on stage, the staging could be such that more audience were being involved, but this is the problem of the format of in the round and not necessarily indicative of this production specifically.
The Wind in the Willows is a gorgeously feel-good family experience that I recommend anyone, child or otherwise go and seek out. Play along the river bank and you may find some new friends along the way!
At Shakespeare North Playhouse until 13 January 2024.
★ ★ ★ ★
