‘The Wind in the Willows’ was originally written by Kenneth Grahame in 1908 and was adapted into a musical by Julian Fellows (of ‘Downton Abbey’ fame) before premiering in October 2016. The story has also been adapted into numerous television broadcasts, cartoons and countless other stories featuring the characters.
The Friary’s show ran for four nights and a matinee last week and received rave reviews throughout which built to a crescendo of praise by the final show on the Saturday night. Until the recent musical adaptation, the story had fell somewhat out of fashion, but now a new generation of students have taken the characters of Mole, Badger, Otter, Chief Weasel, and of course, Toad, to their hearts.
The show maintained the previous high benchmarks of Friary productions with excellent acting, superb singing, live music, strong technical expertise, and excellent direction.
Elsewhere, the PTFA provided great support all week by providing refreshments, photographs and prize draws.
Richard Hughes, Head of Drama and show director, said: “We were delighted by the performance of the cast, ably supported by the magnificent back-stage team who contributed throughout the weeks of rehearsals.”
Matt Allman, Headteacher, added: “Thus was a truly ambitious production as it is such a new show, there is no set staging to hire and the vast majority had to be built from scratch. It has been a tireless effort and we are already looking forward to the Summer Show.”
