In The Willows @ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Audiences young and old might learn a thing or two from Metta Theatre's street dance-inflected take on Wind in the Willows

Review by Sarah Colston | 04 Apr 2019

Metta Theatre's In the Willows is a musical adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 classic The Wind in the Willows complete with street dance, rap and sign language. Written and directed by Poppy Burton-Morgan, it tells an engaging story of friendship and important life lessons.

It follows Mole (Victoria Boyce) who's anxious about fitting in at her new school, The Willows. Her teacher, Mr Badger (Clive Rowe), asks Rattie (Zara MacIntosh) to look out for her, and with Otter (Chris Fonseca) introduces the shy and novice dancer to a street dance gathering at The Riverbank nightclub. Eager to make friends, she gets involved in a joyride with her new buddy, Toad (Harry Jardine). However, Chief Weasel (Bradley Charles), leader of a rival weasel gang, threatens to reveal a dark secret from Mole’s past. 

Cast members offer impressive dance and vocal performances that develop the show’s themes with well-choreographed routines by Rhimes Lecointe, set design by William Reynolds and music by Pippa Cleary and Keiran Merrick. There are many strategies used by the creative team to portray Mole’s anxiety in new settings; costume design by Ryan Dawson Laight ensures that Mole stands out when she enters her new school for the first time dressed in dark, old clothing in contrast to the brightly coloured outfits of her classmates.

Lyrics by Merrick and Burton-Morgan are skilfully pieced together into fast-paced rhyming rap verses. The song Easy Life is a showstopper with a lively performance led by Jardine, who encourages the audience to join in throughout the chorus with catchy comedic lines: "I choose that easy life, that macaroni cheesy life, my lemon squeezy life, my perfect cuppateasy life".

Mole learns that her true friends will accept her as she is, that she's not so different from the others and that she can overcome some of her past fears and be herself (as highlighted in some of the final dance scenes). What's special about this musical is that it encourages plenty of important take-home messages based on each of the characters’ experiences. Audiences, young and old, might learn a thing or two.


In The Willows @ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, run ended
https://www.mettatheatre.co.uk/in-the-willows