The Public Reviews (Rating: ) - The Wind in the Willows
Just as the sour Mary Lennox finds her heart softened by the magic of her secret garden in the children’s book of the same name, so any hardened Londoner will be won over by the beautiful and hidden away Actor’s Church garden in the centre of a bustling metropolitan piazza. Based at St Paul’s Iris Theatre Company wowed last year with a vibrant and impressively polished promenade performance of Romeo & Juliet that showed that director Daniel Winder knew exactly what a special setting he was in. This year’s partner show, The Wind in the Willows, only goes on to further prove his understanding of this best of all gentile spaces.

Alan Bennett’s adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s famous tale skates skilfully between physical comedy and witty social satire, and so pleases children and adults alike. The story of a group of loveable friends, Bennett never lets it sink into the asinine sweetness that such a show could so easily become. Indeed the constant presence of the villainous Wild Wooders, in the form of some genuinely frightening gnawing Weasels (whose dastardly plan is to depress the market value of Toad Hall in order to make it ripe for re-development – a depressingly believable reality) keep this gentle tale from being too sickly. Mole, Rat, Badger and of course the infamous Toad, may have a jolly old time of it, but danger and hardship is never too far away, although of course a happy ending prevails.

Poor old Toad does go through it though before getting his happily ever after, After being locked up for 20 years for crashing a stolen motor vehicle and being very rude to a high court judge he has to dress up as a smelly washerwoman to escape. Upon his raucous return he finds that his pride and joy has been ambushed by our snarling baddies with the horrifying intent to turn Toad Hall into a Park & Leisure Centre, but all is not lost as our gang rallies round and natural order is restored.

Winder’s cast are bright eyed and bushy tailed and movement director Elissavet Aravidou’s wonderfully detailed animal work shines through the constantly shifting, twitching, and foraging performers. You will like Mole (a sparky Laura Wickham), feel vaguely irritated but ultimately fond of Robert Lonergan’s stuffy Rat, respect Matthew Mellalieu’s confident, inspiring Badger and not be able to help but adore the extravagant Toad. For although it is told as Mole’s story it is our eccentric Toad who is Bennett’s real hero; Laurence Saywood gobbling up all of his best bits with relish. Saywood’s lordly fool is a camp version of Jonny (Rotten) Lydon doing butter adverts – it shouldn’t work but gloriously, it does.
Iris Theatre Company’s The Wind In The Willows is perfect summer fair. The whole production has a lightness of touch and infectious enthusiasm that will leave you feeling positively sunny and raring to go. Anyone for a ride in Toad’s car? Just you try and stop me.

Honour Bayes - The Public Reviews

The Stage - The Wind in The Willows

A lot of love has gone into creating this outdoor production which sees St Paul’s Church and its grounds transformed into a world filled with picnics, punting and the ‘poop poop’ sound of a maverick toad’s motor vehicle. As people called Marjory and Charles - who may be audience members or may be characters minus their fluffy ears - take a seat on movable park benches, the hustle and bustle of Covent Garden fades away and is replaced by the serenity of Ratty’s riverside home. At the heart of Alan Bennett’s wry adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s classic tale is nostalgia for a bygone era of simple friendships and homely comforts - a highly appealing place that director Daniel Winder and the production team brilliantly evoke. The camaraderie between the reliable Rat and his young protege Mole is touchingly conveyed by Robert Lonergan and Wickham, while Matthew Mellalieu is reassuringly brusque as the authoritarian Badger. It’s difficult to avoid caricature in portraying the unstoppable Toad, but Laurence Saywood peels back our anti-hero’s bravado to reveal a softer side. The animated Weasel Norman (Richard Foster-King) is another highlight along with a never-ending sea of woodland creatures who defy the notion that talking animals are just for kids.

While this is a great show for the young, it’s the young at heart that will fully appreciate the rare loveliness of its wholesome world and, arguably, enjoy it most.

Sally Stott - The Stage

British Theatre Guide - The Wind in the Willows

This promenade performance, directed by Daniel Winder, turns the gardens of St Paul's into the river bank and wild wood of the story with only the final scene actually in the church which, as you might expect, becomes Toad Hall. You arrive to find a game of badminton is going on. It is being played, as you soon realise, not by people but by a rabbit and a squirrel and various assorted animals taking turns to have a go.There are some little fellas who turn out to be hedgehogs who've even got a real rabbit with them and perhaps those pigeons settling by you are not there by chance either.

Mole, that innocent young chap, is delightfully played by Laura Wickham and with a girl playing a boy you can be pretty sure that all the kids of both sexes will soon have identified with him/her. Sex does not rear its head among these animals. Even the rabbits are free of any urge to rapid self-replication, though later a human character does seem to take a romantic shine to Mr Toad.

Everyone is cleverly costumed (by Joanna Beart-Albrecht) to suggest both animal and character, some sporting ears or tails and displaying individual creature characteristics like the deliciously twitchy nose of Scott Jones's Ronald Rabbit.

A band of undulating blue cloth appearing above the garden's central path turns it into a river and along it comes a boat rowed by Robert Lonergan's Rat, ducks bobbing in the water around him. Matthew Mellalieu's Italian-accent Otter and his boy flop out of the water to join Rat and Mole's picnic and in the distance we can see wild wood creatures popping out of the undergrowth. Later we met Mellalieu again as kindly Badger in his house in the wildwood and, of course, at Toad Hall there is Mr Toad whom Laurence Saywood makes petulantly infantile.

Toad's scrapes are the storyline as one wild enthusiasm replaces another after each ends in disaster: a boat, a caravan, a scooter until eventually he gets sent to jail, escapes by train and canal barge, returns to Rat's house and joins his friends to reclaim Toad Hall which has been taken over by the wildwood weasels and stoats.

Winder has devised a very lively show, his hard-working cast are particularly good at communicating with the littlest members of the audience on a one-to-one basis and transport all of us from location to location with music and encouragement. There are always benches to sit on if you don't want to keep on your feet as you discover the little houses of the leading characters that Sarah Booth has cleverly designed so that they open up to show you their interiors.

Diana de Cabarrus is there with her guitar for every scene and most of the animals are ready to pick up an instrument whenever needed for the many happy songs that go along with the action.

This playful production creates a real holiday atmosphere for kids and grown ups alike, the cast - and especially the hand-bandaged, soot-smirched stoats and weasels, Liv Spencer's rebellious Black Country horse and John Harwood's drag bargewoman - soon win them over. You might even enjoy it as much as Charles Grant does playing a properly posh magistrate.

Howard Loxton - The British Theatre Guide