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Theatre Review
Eleanor Pearson 7 July 2016 This is the Life! Simply messing about in the English countrysideA delightful reimagining of the English classic The Wind in The Willows is set to charm children’s audiences this July. Marian Street Theatre for Young People (M.S.T.Y.P.) takes Kenneth Grahame’s well-known children’s story on a musical sojourn at Knox Grammar.
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The Wind in the Willows |
Up we go! Spring and life beckon, and nothing can hold back the excited underground-dwelling Mole - not even a pair of whiskery gatekeeping rabbits! As Mole enters the domain of the river-bankers and wild-wooders, we too enter an artfully constructed English countryside.
Stage shorthand abounds in this fast-paced production. A two-dimensional boat flips up to take Mole and his new friend Rat (Connor Lawrance) on a river tour. Prostrate cast members billowing blue streamers evoke the river itself. Later the reckless, yet lovable Toad (Cian Connolly) is carried away on a “steam train” which is imagined by actors holding up token train parts.
You can quickly tell from the look on a three-year-old audience member’s face when a children’s show has hit its mark.
When intermission rolled around, my three-year-old son insistently asked what had happened to Toad – and - by the way - where were the weasels?
Stage shorthand abounds in this fast-paced production. A two-dimensional boat flips up to take Mole and his new friend Rat (Connor Lawrance) on a river tour. Prostrate cast members billowing blue streamers evoke the river itself. Later the reckless, yet lovable Toad (Cian Connolly) is carried away on a “steam train” which is imagined by actors holding up token train parts.
You can quickly tell from the look on a three-year-old audience member’s face when a children’s show has hit its mark.
When intermission rolled around, my three-year-old son insistently asked what had happened to Toad – and - by the way - where were the weasels?
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The second act was faster-paced than the first, with the storming of Toad Hall the highlight. In this adaptation, the weasels were less sinister than in the original story, and a bit more like your rowdy, generally uncouth neighbours, as they invaded, and then entertained themselves (with musical instruments) in the abandoned Toad Hall. Funnily enough, you wanted to join them – they sure knew how to have a good time! The chief weasel, merrily played by Malachy Smith, rallied all with a speech worthy of the House of Representatives, which neatly parodied the vain Toad.
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All the leading roles were well cast. In a whimsical tale with anthropomorphic animal characters, you almost wanted the leads to go even further with their characterisations. Toad’s rendition of The Toad Came Home won over the children, with plenty of audience participation.
The quaint British-flavoured costumes by Pamela Reeves echoed the 1900s setting, without over-playing the fact that the characters were predominately animals.
The Wind in the Willows plays until July 16, 2016
The quaint British-flavoured costumes by Pamela Reeves echoed the 1900s setting, without over-playing the fact that the characters were predominately animals.
The Wind in the Willows plays until July 16, 2016
