The Age, Melbourne, December 1987 If the audience reaction, or the critical acclaim of last year, is any indication then Melbourne can look ahead to an annual event in its famous gardens which will delight adults and children alike.
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Pamela Bone, The Age, Melbourne, 19 January 1987 Believe me, my friends, there is absolutely nothing half so much worthwhile doing as watching Ratty, Mole, Otter, Toad and friends messing about in the Royal Botanic Gardens. The performance, directed by Glenn Elston, is pure charm.
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Paul Cunningham, The Sun, Melbourne, 14 January 1987 The audience, mostly wide-eyed children, were captivated by the antics of the larger than life characters.
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Access Age, Public letter. 2 February 1987 What fun, what ecstasy to be transported back to one's childhood and to observe the obvious enjoyment of all the children. Congratulations for the wonderful experience.
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The Sun, Melbourne, 6 January 1988 Frolicking fun in the park.
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Barbara Hutton, The Age, Melbourne, 7 January 1988 A magical atmosphere…it is very sophisticated children's theatre.
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Roland Roccheccioli, Sunday Observer, Melbourne, 10 January 1988 It really is a delight.
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Michail Shvydkoi, Deputy editor-in-chief, Moscow-based Theatre Magazine One of the most interesting Australian productions was Wind in the Willows. It's a very good kind of theatre because it helped open possibilities of the play in the audience not just for the small children but for adults too, and that's very important.
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Lord Harewood, Adelaide Festival of Arts, Artistic Director, March 1988 It is a lovely show and I am delighted.
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Samela Harris, The Advertiser, Adelaide, 8 March 1988 Wind in the Willows is theatre in full-scale action stations and audience participation on the grand scale. Not for a moment have the children been bored by this snappy and energetic Victorian production. It's all go everywhere and delightfully acted.
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Chris Chalke, The News, Adelaide, 19 March 1988 Wearily, we bunnies hopped away, enlightened and enchanted.
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Tim Lloyd, Advertiser, Adelaide, 18 March 1988 At last - a mass-participation - Wind in the Willows aroused some real enthusiasm.
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Tim Lloyd, Advertiser, Adelaide, 26 March 1988 Another love of outdoor performance - a memorable success - The Wind in the Willows.
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Midland Express, Victoria 18 October 1988 Favorite tale for children of all ages. The production is a magical chance to introduce a new generation of youngsters to the tale and to renew your own acquaintance with it.
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Vicki Fisher, Bendigo Advertiser, 2 November 1988 A classical tale comes to life. The Castlemaine State Festival was alive with activity and entertainment yesterday with a morning performance of Wind in the Willows.
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John Larkin, Sunday Press, Melbourne, 18 December 1988 The show, which is very successful, has had a long history. What it does is manage to maintain our belief in the characters in the book by its high and imaginative standard. It does nothing to dispel the dream, but actually enhances it.
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The Sun, Melbourne 20 December 1988 An outstanding public response. Yesterday was no exception.
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Amanda Ducker, Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 22 December 1988 The play is certain to delight thousands of children (and adults too) at the Festival of Sydney. Children visiting the gardens have been sitting entranced as the cast brings to life well-known scenes from Kenneth Grahame's much-loved take of animals, woods and river.
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Mick Barnes, Sun-Herald, Sydney, 9 January 1989 This delightful adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's much-loved tale of his friends, the animals, is proof positive that Melbourne does come up with a good idea or two. Sometimes a ripper. Ah sweet memories! You'll enjoy it no matter what age you are.
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Aila Carpenter, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 January 1989 The idea of presenting it in Sydney's beautiful Botanic Gardens is a good one and Glenn Elston's adaptation emphasises the natural environment and, in an unobtrusive way, delivers a neat little message to the modern child about its preservation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Herald Sun, Saturday, December 16, 2000 TOAD OF THE LAKE There is no better place to meet Toad of Toad Hall and his friends Ratty, Badger, Mole, Weasel and Otter than down by the lake at Melbourne's beautiful Botanic Gardens. It has been delighting visitors every summer for 14 years!
The annual outdoor season of Wind in the Willows runs from December 27 too January 27, with shows at 11 am and 6 pm Tuesday to Saturday.
It is perfect for all ages, even for parents!
There are plenty of episodes to laugh at and characters to cheer for as the adventure takes you around the gardens for several changes of scenery.
Bring a picnic rug and a hamper, and make it a special day's outing.
40 Sunbeamers will win a family pass to any performance of Wind in the Willows during the summer season.
And 15 runners-up will receive a hardback edition of Kenneth Grahame's classic story, delightfully illustrated, thanks to The Five Mile Press.
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Herald Sun, Saturday, December 30, 2000
ANIMAL MAGIC A Melbourne favorite where the animals come out to play for summer. Join Ratty, Badger, Otter, Mole and the infamous Toad of Toad Hall in the very entertaining children's novel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Sunday Age, December 31, 2000, Theatre - Steven Carroll
Kids have a field day when all the animals come out to play Like the Boxing Day Test, Glenn Elston's adaptation of the Kenneth Grahame classic The Wind in the Willows is now a summer fixture in Melbourne, an outdoor equivalent of The Mousetrap.
For 14 summers now Mole, Rattie, otter, Toad, Weasel, Badger and Portly have been coming to the park. And as in summers past, Mole still throws away the broom and goes off in search of adventure, Badger still blathers on about nothing, Toad is as self-obsessed as ever and the battle for Toad Hall remains one of the pivotal military encounters of the modern era.
Grahame wrote the book in 1908 to entertain his son Alastair, nicknamed Mouse. It has long been a children's favorite and no wonder: the characters are unforgettable and the story is a gem. Not that its appeal is limited to children for, like Alice in Wonderland, it's the kind of story that big kids can always go back to with relish.
The adaptation of the tale has more than a touch of outdoor summer panto, and it runs as smoothly as a well-oiled machine, even if it's slow to get moving at the start.
There's lots of audience participation and the kids are given every chance to scream their lungs out or sing along with the gang. The costumes are a laugh and there are jokes for both big and little people. Then, of course, there's the Royal Botanic Gardens, which are astutely incorporated, from Otter emerging out of the lake to the setting for Toad Hall.
This is also a very well acted piece of summer theatre, tightly directed by Marianne Bragge. It's often difficult to project a sense of character in the open air, but the cast plays up the idiosyncrasies of the animals with flair and aplomb.
Badger (Don Halbert), Otter/cop (Patrick Moffat), Mole (Anthea Davis), Toad (Leo Faust), Weasel (Robert Jackson), Rat (Tom Davies) and Portly (Maleela Jullyan) are all memorably portrayed, as is the host and Head Chief Rabbit (Ross Mathers).
Putting outdoor summer theatre on in Melbourne is a brave venture, especially in December. There were times at the evening performance I saw when the rain threatened to stop things, but in the best of showbiz traditions the show went on. Badger strolled about in the summer showers as if the sky were clear and Mole wasn't going to let a few drops of rain spoil her wonderful adventure in the big, wide world.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Look Hear, Sunday Herald Sun, December 31 2000, Catherine Lambert
Wind still blows strongly
When the lake in the Royal Botanic Gardens flooded repeated last year, Marianne Bragge began to wonder about the feasibility of outdoor theatre in Melbourne's summer.
"It meant we had up to 16 swans with us on the lawn rather than the customary two or three," Bragge said. "You have to be really flexible when the biggest challenge you face is the weather."
Bragge has been directing The Wind in the Willows for five years, though the adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's delightful tale has been staged there for 14 years.
It has become a Melbourne tradition.
Almost 400,000 people have seen the show that takes children through different sites of the gardens, playing with Badger and Otter and worrying about Portley.
The actors only have seven days to rehearse. "Over the years it has become much tighter, though I have remained quite faithful to the original vision," she said.
"I allow the actors to offer me something different. Because they are trained and skilled, they know how to portray an animal character. I don't ask them to be animals, but people dressed as animals, which makes all the difference to the way they perform and the way the story is conveyed."
Bragge, who works a lot with children and in community theatre, said many people return each year. "It has a beautiful picturesque quality in a lovely environment with colorful characters," Bragge said. "It brings the story-book quality to life and there is something really romantic about watching the kids get so genuinely engrossed in what's happening."
Yet the challenges of the weather remain. Bragge leaves it to the last minute to cancel and always offers tickets to another show for those who miss out.
"We have a lot of other challenges - accidents, the logistics of moving the audience, actors falling out of the boat," she said.
"We have to get the business side of the production finely tuned so it doesn't look like business and looks natural."
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Melbourne's Child December 200/January 2001 Calendar - Wednesday 27 The Wind in the Willows Join Ratty, Badger, Mole, Otter and the infamous Toad of Toad Hall.
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Events/Children From 27 December/The Wind in the Willows The animals come out to play for summer. All your favorite characters; Mole, Ratty, Badger and Head Chief Rabbit return once again for Melbourne's favorite kids and family outdoor production.
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What's on in Melbourne Mole and the infamous Toad of Toad Hall in the wonderfully entertaining production of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows in the picturesque setting of the beautiful Botanic Gardens.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Herald Sun, Friday, January 5, 2001, Jacqui Hammerton
Wascally tale enthralls young wabbits
The title of Kenneth Grahame's classic story held a little more relevance than usual at the Botanic Gardens production this week.
A bit of wind in the willows would have been a godsend.
High-temperature noon was wilting the audience as much as the greenery, but the spirited cast of eight, in full costume and lashings of gaudy make-up, breezed through the show as if it were a brisk English spring morning.
Head Chief Rabbit (Ross Mathers) quickly ordains us all as wabbits - for which we must waggle our ears, wiggle our noses, sing and promise not to dwop any wabbit wubbish as we move through the gardens.
The Chief also acts as narrator, music man and general prankster, in conjunction with an amusing smart-alec, Weasel (Robert Jackson), who toys cleverly with the soprano sax.
But we wabbits become most engrossed in the antics of riverbank friends Ratty, Mole, Badger, Otter and Otter's daughter, Portly.
In the second scene, down by the lake in the blazing sun, battling some construction noise and toddler chatter, Ratty (a gymnastic Tom Davis) is talking surprise picnics - just as we unwrap our sandwiches.
Otter (Patrick Moffatt in life-saver gear) warns us about the Wild Wood, and a classy Badger (Don Halbert) in a burgundy dressing gown admits being acquainted with the infamously bombastic Toad of Toad Hall.
Moving with the times and avoiding the lake's blue-green algae, accident-prone Toad's first appearance involves lamely falling off a scooter rather than (in previous years) falling out of his dinghy.
Toad (Leo Faust), in a gaudy green suit and full-face green make-up, is not camp enough to be hysterical, but plays the conceited fool well enough to enrage his friends and amuse us wabbits.
He crashes his cart and steals a "car" (golf buggy); insults a bobby; is arrested, tried and sentenced; and finally is captured by the weasels and stuffed stoats which invade his Hall.
The young wabbits are encouraged to become involved in the action, and they do.
It's no surprise that this show, which brings such vibrant family entertainment to the exquisite setting of the Botanic Gardens, is in its 14th year.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Look Hear, Sunday Herald Sun, January 7, 2001, Wayne Jones
The Wind in the Willows is back for a record 14th year. This year's performance of the classic Kenneth Grahame tale seems sure to again captivate audiences, young and old.
The majestic Royal Botanic Gardens is the perfect backdrop for this exciting production.
Director Marianne Bragge has this year introduced two street performers to the cast, giving the production yet another successful dimension.
Veteran street performer Ross Mathers plays the role of Head Chief Rabbit, and from the onset builds an excellent rapport with audience members who are inducted as rabbits, eagerly joining in the fun of the Whispering Willows Rabbit Song.
The experience begins by introducing the three main players. There's Head Chief Rabbit, who ensures all rabbits (the audience) find their way around the gardens, including the Wild Woods and Toad Hall for the pantomime.
The not-to-be trusted Weasel is played by street trouper Robert Jackson and the lovable Mole, who has decided to leave the safety of his hole to find adventure in the wide world, is again played by Anthea Davis. She gives a superb performance, her third for this production.
The rabbits (audience) meet Ratty, played by Tom Davies, on the banks opposite the river (lake), and soon after are introduced to the other players, including the infamous Badger, Otter and his daughter Portly.
Portly arrives at the bank of the river with a tale of a visit to Toad Hall and her trek into the dangerous Wild Wood.
Don Halbert, who plays the stately Badger, gives a wonderful performance - his face caked in black and white paint, giving his character an almost mystical appearance.
Patrick Moffatt plays the equally lovable Otter and the mad-cap Toad is played by Les Faust. He and all of the other cast members give an enchanting performance that captures the hearts and minds of children of all ages.
Subtle changes to the adaptation have ensured that audience members returning to enjoy the production each year can do so without the repetition found in other theatre productions.
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Herald Sun, Tuesday January 11, 2001 Summer Hot Stuff Today's Giveaway ALL-TIME favorite The Wind in the Willows is playing at the Botanic Gardens. It's great fun and for your chance to win one of five family tickets, ph. 1900 966 358.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE AGE , Monday January 15 2001, Jim Murphy
From pooh (snot, wee) to Puff!
It might do jaded adult theatregoers good to take themselves off to one of the children's shows running in Melbourne over summer…You can't fool kids. If they are bored with a show, they switch off, become restless. But when their imagination is caught, they enter wholeheartedly into not only the spirit of the play but sometimes the action itself.
What a joy to see a curlyhaired mite engaged mid-play in deep and serious conversation with mole about developments along the riverbank, and, with a withering look that said, "Can't you see I'm speaking to my friend?" indignantly brush off the mother trying to get her to resume her seat.
Checking out children's theatre is an enriching exercise because you can always watch the audience when the intellectual pressure of the show gets too much, and the children can even supply excellent entertainment.
Perambulating around the Royal Botanic Gardens…on a balmy evening is enjoyable enough on its own, but following the characters from The Wind in the Willows in (this sylvan setting) is all the more agreeable.
The version at the Botanic Gardens, now in its 14th year, has become part of the Melbourne summertime scene, and long may it continue. Purists may find too many liberties taken with Kenneth Grahame's original, and the interpolation of references to Playstations, DVDs, Volvo drivers and other trappings of modernity do jar. But the end result, considering the locale, the byplay with a car over the grass and boats on the lake (sorry, river), and the abilities of the cast on various musical instruments, is good fun. The sextet with guitar accompaniment along the riverbank is most enjoyable music-making.
Director, Marianne Bragge gets plenty of verve from her eight alfresco thespians who work hard in the pantomime tradition to interact with their young audience. Leo Faust's vain, foolish Mr Toad comes over like Hugh Laurie in green make-up, an eminently valid interpretation, and the acting styles of other British TV comedy stars seem to be popular among the cast - touches of Dawn French are detectable in Mole (Anthea Davis), Chris Barrie in Badger (Don Halbert), Ronnie Corbett in Ratty (Tom Davis) and Robbie Coltraine in the Policeman (Patrick Moffat). A flourish of magic and juggling from Ross Mathers (as Rabbit) and Robert Jackson (Weasel) add to the mix.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Herald Sun, Friday January 16 2009, Kate Herbert
How can you resist a show that seats you beside the Botanic Gardens lake with the kids, a picnic and jokes for all?
The Wind in the Willows is back and it still delights its audience.
The cast has had some more changes this year, but stalwart Roscoe Mathers deserves a verteran's jersey for his years as MC and Head Chief Rabbit.
Mathers' charming manner engages the little ones from the start and his patter with the oily Weasel (Robert Jackson) elicits giggles from the parents.
Mathers and Jackson are a great double act and have the added benefit of being musicians.
If you've never read Kenneth Grahame's book, here's the scenario: the egocentric Mr Toad (Andrew Dunne) lives at Toad Hall and, like all affluent dilettantes, becomes obsessed with one fad after another.
Boating is one, but this he gives up after he capsizes his canoe - to the delight of the kids.
Sean-James Murphy plays the gruff old Badger, who knew all the Toads and thinks the current Mr Toad is letting his family down.
Ratty (David Bailiht) loves a picnic but thinks Mr Toad is too adventurous. Mole (Michelle Hall), a shy, stammering clean-freak, admires Mr Toad's audacity. Cheerful Otter (Jon Boad) and his fearless son Portly (Harry Stapleton) complete the coterie.
There is never a dull moment as Toad falls out of his boat, careers into a policeman in his new golf jeep, goes to court, is imprisoned by the Weasel and enlists his friends to reclaim Toad Hall from the rascally Weasel, who invades it.
The animals sing plenty of perky songs, including the singalong Whispering Willows, The Famous Mr Toad and The Duck Ditty.
There is even some running around time. The kids join the Badger Battalion or the Rat Pack and hunt in the Wild Wood for lost little Portly, while the parents are treated to their own entertainment back at base camp. Take a picnic, a hat, some sunscreen and a kid or two and sing along with these very British animals.
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