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A timeless and much-loved classic story of life on the riverbank retold in Alan Bennett’s glorious musical version of this classic tale and this promenade performance allows the audience the rare opportunity to get up close to these charming characters as the action unfolds. When Mole goes boating with the Water Rat instead of
doing his spring-cleaning, he discovers a new world. As well
as the river and the Wild Wood, there is Toad's craze for fast Fuelled by Alan Bennett’s trademark warmth and humour, Wind in the Willows promises to be the perfect way to spend a summer’s evening. Poop-poop! This was performed as Promenade Theatre in the Black Theatre, Burgess Hall St. Ives in 7th - 10th July 2010. |
A Toad about Town
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The Corn Exchange opens with a Theatre Company in Residence
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Mole has a sudden case of spring fever, gives up on his house-cleaning, and wanders in the fields and meadows. He finds himself by a river and meets the Water Rat, who invites Mole into his boat, something else he has never seen before. "Believe me, my young friend," Rat says dreamily, "there is nothing —absolutely nothing —half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." A world of friendships, the joy of carefree wandering, of picnicking, and playing has opened for Mole. Half way through the book, the Mole, the Water Rat and the Badger go to Toad Hall to try to help their friend Mr. Toad who has a bad habit of reckless driving. His irresponsible living and extravagance lead to the loss of his home to the barbaric stouts and weasels, the four friends go to battle to regain Toad Hall. Wind in the Willows is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality, and camaraderie Author Kenneth Grahame transformed the wayward headstrong nature he saw in his little son Alastair (also known as "Mouse") into the swaggering Mr. Toad. Despite its success, Grahame never attempted a sequel. The book was a hit and is still enjoyed by adults and children today, whether in book form, on Radio or TV or in the films, while Toad remains one of the most celebrated and beloved characters of literature. |
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Rehearsals and Flyering in St Ives
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Kenneth Grahame (1859 – 1932) was a British writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows (1908), one of the classics of children's literature. He also wrote The Reluctant Dragon; both books were later adapted into Disney films. Grahame was born on 8 March 1859 in Edinburgh but in early childhood, after his mother died and his father began to drink heavily, he moved with his younger sister to live with his grandmother near Maidenhead. He was an outstanding pupil at school and but his family could not afford to send him to University. Instead he was sent to work at the Bank of England and rose through the ranks until retiring as its Secretary in 1908 due to ill health. Grahame's retirement was precipitated in 1903 by a strange, possibly political, shooting incident at the bank. Grahame was shot at three times, all of them missed. While still a young man, Grahame began to publish stories in London periodicals which were collected and published as Pagan Papers in 1893, and later the Golden Age. These were followed by Dream Days in 1898, which contains The Reluctant Dragon. Alan Bennett has been one of our leading dramatists since the success of Beyond the Fringe in the 1960s. His television series Talking Heads has become a modern-day classic, as have many of his works for stage including Forty Years On, The Lady in the Van, A Question of Attribution, The Madness of George III (together with the Oscar-nominated screenplay The Madness of King George), and an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. At the National Theatre, London, The History Boys won numerous awards including Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle awards for Best Play, an Olivier for Best New Play and the South Bank Award. On Broadway, The History Boys won five New York Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critcs’ Circle Awards, a New York Drama Critics’ Award, a New York Drama League Award and six Tony’s. His collection of prose, Untold Stories, won the PEN/Ackerley Prize for autobiography, 2006. The Uncommon Reader was published in 2007. |
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| Related Web Sites, Articles and Media Links | |
| Mad Antics Toad Show - Huntingdon News and Crier - 8th July 2010 | |
| One for the Toad - Hunts Post - 20th August 2009 | |
