Written by Alan Bennet (adapted from the novel by Kenneth Grahame) and directed by Bill Butler.
Saturday 1st to Saturday 8th December 2018. There will be a matinee performance at 2pm on Saturday 8th December
“Believe me, my young friend, there is absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. In them or out of them, it doesn’t matter. Whether you get away or you don’t, whether you arrive at your destination or whether you never get anywhere at all, you’re always busy.”
The Director, Bill Butler, says,
“Ever since Kenneth Grahame’s novel was published in 1908, the story has delighted generations of readers. Alan Bennett’s witty and funny adaptation brings to life on stage the great characters from this classic story. We are delighted to be performing this fantastic version featuring Ratty, Mole, Badger and, of course, Toad, together with their riverbank friends and the scary inhabitants of the Wild Wood. There will be songs, chases, fights – and bad driving – as well as the delights of home and messing about in boats. We have cast the main characters without regard to gender and this will, we hope, make the play far more accessible to all audiences – as well as showcasing some excellent actors! I hope you will come along and see it.”
Press Comment:
“Alan Bennett’s stage adaptation of The Wind in the Willows has become a classic in its own right. If Kenneth Grahame’s riverside characters were affectionate portraits of his friends, the enduring appeal of the stage version is that they seem to provide a composite of Bennett. There is Mole, the benign, quiet provincial peering at life through thick spectacles. Then Ratty, the urbane, Oxbridge-educated vole of letters, Badger, a gruff member of the establishment who doesn’t like to be disturbed, and Toad, who might be seen as Bennett’s wicked side.” Alfred Hickling. The Guardian.
‘The Wind I the Willows’ plays at the Criterion Theatre in Berkeley Road South from Saturday 1st December to Saturday 8th December and starts at 7.30pm, there will also be a matinee performance at 2pm on Saturday 8th December 2018
Tickets are available to buy online or by contacting the Box Office in person every Wednesday from 8.00pm to 9.00pm and each play night from 6.30pm to 9.00pm. Our website provides more information: www.criteriontheatre.co.uk. Tickets are selling fast and are expected to be sold out before opening night.