Photo credit: Brittany Santariga

One for the road sees Mr. Toad receive a 20 year load, necessitating a prison break for the amphibian felon, requiring the frog to frock up and take a train to freedom.

A large ensemble brings Stacks On production of Alan Bennett’s adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind In The Willows in a bare bones, blank black space staging that employs the basics of naive theatre.

Imaginative use of props, costume design and characterisation keeps the cavalcade of set pieces flowing as Mole meets Ratty, is introduced to Badger, encounters Mr. Toad and confronts the weasels, stoats, ferrets, foxes and other ferals, the female led bovver boys of the forest.

A highlight of this production is the trial of Toad, an absurd and eccentric scene which demonstrably shows that the law most certainly can be an ass, with privilege and prejudice prevailing over justice and jurisprudence.

With Wind in the Willows, there is the underlying takeaway that although Toad is rich, jovial, and friendly, he is also brash, rash and arrogant, with a sense of entitlement. His lack of empathy with common creatures is galling, rising to appalling with his treatment of his horse, Alfred, who after back breaking service is summarily sacked.

The narrative wind drops occasionally in this production of THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, becalming the action, but the doldrums are never let set for long thanks to the sheer exuberance of the cast.

The programming of THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS at Kings Cross Theatre on Broadway is an odd one. It seems more suited to a matinee audience of children than a two hour late night time slot. (By late night, I mean the big hand is heading towards ten by the show’s curtain call).