“Toad Of Toad Hall” by BMTC
Bingham Methodist Church

'Toad of Toad Hall' is the first of several dramatisations of Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows' which was first published in 1908. The play was adapted in 1929. Milne extracted the adventures of Mr. Toad (which form only about half of the original book) because they lent themselves most easily to being staged.

The play has four main characters: Ratty, Badger, Mole and Toad. The story begins with Mole doing his spring cleaning. Fed-up with the task he emerges on to the riverbank and meets Ratty (a watervole). The two encounter various other creatures during their adventures, such as a kindly old Badger who invites them to say at his house.

They also meet the irrepressible Toad who owns Toad Hall, a very impressive property. Toad's caravan and car adventures are included, as well as his imprisonment, brought about by his love of fast cars, too fast though for Toad. But how can Toad escape?

When Toad's beloved Hall is taken over by the wicked creatures from the Wild Wood (weasels, stoats and ferrets) he vows, along with his friends to take back control of his home.But how?

.Graham Buchanan (Toad) injects an enormous amount of energy into his role - especially admirable when you consider the temperature in the hall and outside. This is a physical role and Graham brings the physicality of Toad to life as well as the script with a certain manicness, slightly reminiscent of a previous role he had of Basil Fawlty in the stage version of "Fawlty Towers".

Emily Hudson (Ratty) gave a very refined performance, especially for a rat - but then again the character is of a water vole, so they may be more refined. A lovely double act with Mole.

Becky Morley (Mole) performed with the whole of her body, and you could really see the embodiment of a mole. The whole demeanour was of a timid creature, and I loved the way she used her whole face to show exactly what Mole was feeling and thinking.Oh my oh my was this a fun character.

Richard Fife (Badger) was supposed to be a grumpy elder statesman of the piece, and Richard really got into the role - I know Richard and he is not grumpy at all - I also loved the make up for Richard in particular because it transformed his whole look to make him look like a badger.

Amelia Jerom-Dover (Marigold) plays the young girl who told us of what could be her fantasies of talking to the furry inhabitants of where she lived. Not a massive role but I did admire that she was on stage practically all the time so had to stay in character while appearing to do nothing, something that takes great discipline for a young actor, in fact for an actor of any age.

Nicola Jerem-Dover (Nurse/Usher) keeps it in the family, but as Niurse was not on stage all the time, Nicola got to play a couple of other roles as well, although you had to look closely to spot Nicola from the Nurse to the Usher to being part of a caravan!

Paul Green (Alfred/Washerwoman) always has the ability to make me smile and these two roles are perfect for him. Both being different but both play to Paul's comedy forte.

Nik Hudson (Chief Weasel) gets his weaselly teeth into a proper baddie part,and I thought at one stage we were set for a panto "oh no he isn't/ oh yes he is" bit of panto banter with his scene in the court room. But we all love a good panto baddie don't we? Oh yes we do!

Emma Townsend (Chief Stoat) and Lydia Daniel (Chief Ferrett) also portray some pretty nasty tendencies in their roles, but do all three leaders get their comeuppance? You'll have to go and see!

This is possibly the biggest cast I’ve seen for a Bingham Musical Theatre Company production because there are loads of cast members playing the various Wildwood characters. I loved that the age range was so diverse as well because it's great to see some of the very young ones taking part and learning while loving what they are doing, and they all do an incredible job.

Although not specifically a musical, the play contains six songs.There is no big band or orchestra here and you don't need it because the simple accompaniment by keyboard player Martin Lewis provides just the right tone for the piece showing that less is sometimes more.

I loved the scenery last year they used and this year the scenery again is simple but very effective, making use of a screen to situate everything from the courtroom, prison cell, an underground tunnel, badger's home and much more. It was also multi levelled which gave another interesting side to the scenery. the set was the work of Director Philippa Buchanan, James Loren and a man who is getting himself an excellent name in theatre staging, Roydon Charlesworth.

Loved the costumes - Sarah Dunbavand and Jenny Pike - and I bet the cast shed a few pounds by the end of this run if the weather stays as it is,

Some fun choreography, thanks to Sarah Dunbavand and providing an excellent job with Sound and Lighting were Nik Hudson and Anthony Alldread respectively.

You, like I, will also be impressed with the caravan, motor car and boat that are included in this production. I wondered how they were going to do all three, and now I know how they did it, but I'm not giving any spoilers. Go see for yourself!

It really doesn't matter how old you are because even I found myself being drawn into the story and Toad, Ratty, Mole and Badger's little world, and so will you and so will your kids - of any age. It's a family friendly, fun piece of theatre that can be enjoyed at any level, so get your tickets and don't be a party poop pooper!

“Toad Of Toad Hall” is at Bingham Methodist Church until Saturday 27 July.