Past productions

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

by Kenneth Grahame, adapted for the stage by Mike Kenny

29 January – 7 February 2026

This much-loved tale comes alive with this pared back retelling, first staged in 2010, which combines all the joy and mystery of Kenneth Grahame’s classic, with the lightness of touch and playfulness of award-winning playwright Mike Kenny. Tired of spring-cleaning, Mole ventures out to the riverbank, and befriends the resourceful Ratty, gruff Badger and the infamous Toad of Toad Hall (“Poop-poop!”). Together they explore the Wild Wood and try to keep Toad out of trouble. This is a fresh version of an old favourite and suitable for the whole family.

This amateur production was presented by arrangement with NICK HERN BOOKS.

Cast

Photography by Gail Bishop

Review | January 2026 | Theo Spring

What a joy to be back on the Riverbank again, in the company of Mole, Ratty and Badger and all their many friends. A relatively small cast created a plethora of characters with some very speedy changes into different hats with the relevant ears and other small costume additions. Knowing which character they were playing and how to convey it, having often turned on a sixpence, showed the skill and commitment of all the cast.

Set in the round with minimal props and furnishings, there was much reliance on Niall Monaghan’s lighting plot which delivered a cosy firepit, ‘warm’ enough for two hedgehogs to toast marshmallows on sticks; Badger’s dark tunnels; Ratty’s cosy home and the splendid chaos when Toad Hall was triumphantly reclaimed. Wardrobe was kept simple with well-researched animal nose masks, tails of different lengths where required, and those many hats. Toad’s loud yellow check suit, plus some green-rimmed glasses, was a triumph for Wardrobe Mistress Berry Butler. Katie McMullen’s set included an impressively designed underground hole from which Angelique Patnett as Mole could make an impressive entrance at the start of the tale. Full marks to the set construction team here too. Once arrived the tale commenced, with Angelique Patnett’s Mole vacillating delightfully between being cautious and up for an adventure. It was, of course, Mole’s first foray into boating which gave rise Ratty’s comment of author Kenneth Grahame’s beloved phrase about there being … “nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

In a large role, Elke Desanghere created a really warm, friendly Ratty, taking on much of the storyline and being knowledgeable about the Riverbank folk and the goings on in the Wild Wood. On the edge of the Wild Wood lived Badger, played with solemnity and wisdom by Carol Moss. She also, as the horse, pulled the first of Toad’s short-lived crazes – a caravan complete with colourful ‘wheels’ made from bright umbrellas. Complete with sound-effect coconut shell hooves, the horse gave Toad, Ratty and Mole the freedom of the countryside.

With ebullient and over-the-top enthusiasm, Anthony Perry-Portsmouth was the perfect Toad. Hardly still on stage, with quick-fire movement and never ceasing energy, he moved constantly – never still, gleefully taking up one fad after another. His only stillness was, when jailed for car stealing, he was in a prison cell, bewailing his fate. Altogether, a performance full of unstoppable bonhomie.

Helping the tale along, Lucy Auva separately portrayed Hedgehog, Rabbit and the Otter whose child, Portly was for ever running off. When in human form, as Clerk of the Court, she advised the Judge (an intimidating Jonny Bailey) in the number of years Toad should receive as his sentence. Jonny Bailey had many roles, the most evil being the wicked Chief Weasel, but also as one of the car drivers, Billy the young hedgehog and Person One, with Matthew Stone as Person Two and the Guard. Metamorphizing from the runaway child Otter, Portly, it was Nikki Mohan as the Gaoler’s daughter who helped spring Toad from prison disguised in the Washerwoman’s clothes with Carol Moss here again as the Washerwoman. From prison, Toad tried to hitch a ride on a barge with Nikki Mohan as the Bargee, steering a flag-bedecked barge.

The transformation from one scene to another was speedy, with ingenious changes made by the reconfiguration of just the few boxes on stage. The play was adapted from Grahame’s original book by Mike Kenny and was enhanced by some delightfully sung songs composed by local musician Colin Warnock.

To have, so successfully, turned the floor of the ‘in the round’ stage into so very many imaginative places with words, movement and the aforementioned lighting, must be attributed to the inventive and skilful directing of Ian Brown who, with his truly talented cast and production team brought a much-loved and cherished story to life. And the last word to Toad I think – Poop Poop!