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The Wind in the Willows (Susan Elkin reviews)

The Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Graeme

Adapted and directed by Oliver Gray

Illyria

St Paul’s Church Theatre Garden, Covent Garden

 

Star rating: 4

 

 

This bijoux take on Kenneth Graeme’s 1908 story bubbles with charm and highlights the skills of four talented actors.

Illyria specialises in outdoor touring and they always deliver the goods with aplomb. This time, the set is a little more elaborate than sometimes.  Against the fixed gates of Toad Hall we get various places such as Mole End through manually lifted or flapped semi flats or boxes, along with Rat’s boat, Toad’s car and caravan. It must take skilled stage management and, as ever, the slick costume changes are like watching an elaborate, very fast dance.

Rachel O’Hare gives us an earnest, young mole, always asking questions but also able to make her own decisions. Moreover, she delights as the gaoler’s flirty daughter and the conniving clerk of the court, among other roles. Callum Stewart has huge fun as Toad, who is really just a naughty child finding his feet and, interestingly, in this version he expresses contrition at the end and apparently means it because there is no suggestion of a new aircraft craze.  Nicholas Lee’s Rat is benign, friendly and longsuffering and his Trump-ian account of the Chief Weasel is masterly. Then there’s Edward Simpson, a very familiar Illyria face, as a furious magistrate and a headmasterly Badger. All four actors excel in voice work and use a whole range of different accents to distinguish their range of characters

Graeme’s novel is much fuller than most people realise from the many adaptations most of us have seen. So it’s always interesting to see bits which rarely make the cut.  Adapter/director Oliver Gray, for example, has included the Sea Rat, whose adventures are envied by Rat, which gives Simpson a little hornpipe and a jolly song in which Alaska rhymes with Madagascar and Madeira with Riviera. Mr Otter is in too, played by Stewart as the busy but companionable father who brews beer in his airing cupboard, a type we all know. And thank goodness Gray got the carol singers in because that’s the loveliest episode in the book – Simpson, a timid field mouse singing Joy Shall Be Yours in the Morning.

The garden behind St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden – commonly known as The Actors’ Church – is a delightful setting for theatre. It’s not only very pretty but feels self contained because there are buildings all round  and the noise from the piazza really doesn’t distract too much.

In short: yet another fine Illyria production.

REVIEW: THE DAUGHTER OF TIME by M. Kilburg Reedy at Charing Cross Theatre 18 July – 13 September 2025

Susan Elkin • 27 July 2025

‘Unexpectedly compelling’ ★★★★

 

This is a refreshingly old fashioned play. The action takes place mostly in a single setting. You have to listen to what is said and there are no theatrical gimmicks. It could very easily be dull but isn’t.

Based on Josephine Tey’s 1951 novel, M Kilburg Reddy’s version comes with borrowings from Tey’s other four Inspector Grant novels. Grant (Rob Pomfret) has broken his leg in the course of his duties and is now obliged to spend six weeks in hospital. He is bored and bad tempered until his flighty actress friend, Marta Hallard (Rachel Pickup – nice performance) brings him a photograph of the famous portrait of Richard III. Richard, as nearly every one knows, has long been perceived – largely thanks to Shakespeare – as a villainous, ruthless, power-hungry murderer, guilty of infanticide. Grant studies the face, decides that this benign, wise looking man can’t have done what he is blamed for and sets out to prove his innocence.

 

Of course – with the help of a young researcher and his friend/colleague from the Met – he eventually succeeds. At the same time there are two gentle 1950s-style love stories winding their way along in the background. Both are eventually resolved happily

The history is carefully researched despite flaws in Tey’s argument which becomes a quasi-courtroom scene in a hospital room. And court room scenes generally make good drama. I thought it was a fine novel when I first read it in my teens and – although by then I was more au fait with the background history – I quite liked it again when I reread it a couple of years ago. Now it also makes an unexpectedly compelling play. And although I remain unconvinced that it was the Duke of Buckingham wot-did-it, I can suspend disbelief long enough to appreciate this piece.

Pomfret’s central performance is nicely sustained as he goes from being a curmudgeonly “bad” patient to a professional detective at work. He is horizontal in bed for most of the play’s two and three quarter hours and that can’t be easy. He gets a brief respite when Noah Huntley (good) as actor, Nigel Templeton treats us to extracts from his current play at the Old Vic – Richard III of course – in front of a traditional red velvet curtain. There are also some short scenes when Templeton and Marta meet in the Ivy which is nicely depicted on a half stage flat, complete with distinctive diamond stained glass.

The support cast is generally strong although Hafsa Abbasi, as one of three nurses looking after Grant, isn’t always audible from Row H. Harrison Sharpe is entertaining as the earnest, excitable young American researcher, Brent Carradine. And Sanya Adegbola is enjoyably naturalistic as Grant’s gravelly, no nonsense sidekick. Janna Fox, the nurse who listens patiently to Grant’s developing theories and constantly pours cold water on them, adds dramatic tension and a lot of humour.

It’s quite a treat to see such satisfyingly grown up theatre. It doesn’t set out to be “edgy” or to explore difficult territory but sustains interest throughout. Take it on its own terms and The Daughter of Time is rather good.

THE DAUGHTER OF TIME by M. Kilburg Reedy, adapted from Josephine Tey at Charring Cross Theatre 18 JULY – 13 SEPTEMBER 2025

BOX OFFICE https://charingcrosstheatre.co.uk/theatre/the-daughter-of-time

Directed by Jenny Eastop

Produced by Excelsior Entertainment and Mercurius Theatre

The production’s cast includes:

Hafsa Abassi

Sanya Adegbola

Janna Fox

Noah Huntley

Rachel Pickup

Rob Pomfret

Harrison Sharpe

The cast also includes:

Henry Douthwaite

Sophie Doyle

Gregor Roach

Creatives:

Author: M. Kilburg Reedy

Novelist: Josephine Tey

Director: Jenny Eastop

Set and Costume Designer: Bob Sterrett

Lighting Designer: Oliver McNally

Composer: Haddon Kime

Sound Designer: Andrew Johnson

Hair, Wigs, and Makeup: Diana Estrada Hudson

Casting: Neil Rutherford

Key Art: Kurt Firla

Production Manager: James Anderton

Produced by Excelsior Entertainment, Mercurius Theatre, and Steven M. Levy for Charing Cross Theatre Productions Limited.

This review first appeared in London Pub Theatres Magazine: https://www.londonpubtheatres.com/review-the-daughter-of-time-by-m-kilburg-reedy-at-charing-cross-theatre-18-july-13-september-

Prom: 27 July 2025

 

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)

Mariam Batsashvili (piano)

Royal Albert Hall

 

I don’t recall ever before attending a concert at which the opener was composed by the orchestra’s chief conductor. So this was rather special. Ryan Wigglesworth’s for Laura, after Bach is a tribute to Laura Samuel who led BBCSSO for 12 years until her untimely death last year at age 48. Because it’s a piece for string orchestra rooted in the Gigue from Bach’s Partita in E major for solo violin BWV 1106, there is much Brandenburg-ian busy-ness along with sections of relative lyricism. It was played carefully, as new works usually are, in a way which seemed to connote wistful, loving respect especially in the contemplative ending.

Georgian pianist Mariam Batsashvili has made quite a name for herself in a relatively short time. Dressed in a plain navy trouser suit over a simple white top, she looked less showy than any soloist I’ve seen in years. And her appearance is effectively a metaphor for her electrifying, but businesslike playing. She wanted us to listen – really listen – to the notes in Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D Minor rather than being distracted by sequins or décolletage.

This concerto, so reminiscent in places of Don Giovanni which came two years later in 1787, includes one of Mozart’s most beautiful slow movements. Batsashvili delivered it with gentle sensitivity while Wigglesworth controlled the softly pulsating string quavers beneath her melody. The finale Rondo came with commendable crispness and balance especially during the “question and answer” passages. Batsashvili has a rather appealing way of looking to her left at the instruments she’s duetting with as if she were playing chamber music so it feels intimate even in the lofty Royal Albert Hall.  It was a fine performance, nicely accompanied after momentary raggedness at the start, and it was an unusual treat to hear the grandiose, imaginative Beethoven cadenzas.

And so, after the interval, to something much larger in every sense. Bruckner’s seventh symphony, premiered almost exactly a century after the Mozart, runs for over an hour and requires, among other things, double brass, four Wagner tubas, bass tuba and enlarged string sections. It demands a deal of stamina from both players and listeners.

Wigglesworth’s committed and convincing interpretation came with many highlights amongst which were the richness of the cello sound and the flute interjections (fine work from principal flautist throughout the symphony) in the first movement followed by the Rhine Maidens moment at the end of the movement – just one of many examples of Bruckner’s admiration for Wagner.

We then got the achingly beautiful adagio complete with the dark colour of the bass tuba, all kept flowing dynamically via Wigglesworth’s calm, time-beating conducting style. I liked the incisiveness of the trumpet work in the scherzo and the way in which this performance brought out the mood change into the more tender trio. Then came the rich contrasts of the high-octane, resolute finale – all played with energy and verve.

It was good to see Royal Albert Hall full to capacity for this enjoyable concert. Classical music in general, and the Proms in particular, are evidently alive and well.

 

 

REVIEW: It’s Not All About Coffee at Brockley Jack Studio Theatre 15 – 19 July

Susan Elkin • 18 July 2025

‘Accomplished, imaginative, funny and sinister’ ★★★★

 

An accomplished piece of original and imaginative theatre, this production showcases the considerable talents of two women. Sophia Hail, who also directs, as Zona and Jennifer Kehl as Katherine have agreed to undertake a 60 day trial in which they train themselves to make coffee for their unseen bosses, at the end of which one or other of them will get the job but, of course, there is actually something much more serious going on. The clue is in the play’s title.

These women are actually in a “doomsday bunker” a mile underground in Hawaii because this is a dystopian two hander. It’s a witty, fast paced study of the relationship between them because they don’t initially know each other and their personalities are very different. Gradually their hang ups and vulnerabilities emerge and very slowly and, against the odds, a friendship begins to develop. There’s a lot of humour here but there’s poignancy too when, for example, Katherine explains why she applied for this trial. And towards the end there’s real terror as the situation hots up and, at last, we hear a voice (Austin Yang)  from the outside world.

Hail is very funny as the excitable, untidy, all-American Zona (her full, flamboyant name is Arizona Turquoise) who has come by sea because, of course, she has environmental objections to flying. Kehl’s contrasting character is a control freak from Dallas who just about manages to hold herself together by being ruthlessly efficient. The dialogue is finely honed and the two actors play very pleasingly off each other. The passage of days is indicated by rapid physical theatre like a speeded up film and it’s a device which is both amusing and effective.

A word of praise too for the set which neatly provides a convincing coffee bar in a room which also has camp beds and a table and chairs – everything these people need for 60 days during which food is delivered in an elevator whose ping becomes almost sinister.

Well done Little Coup Theatre Company. This is impressively thoughtful work.

 

It’s Not All About Coffee

Written and performed by Sophia Hail and Jennifer Kehl

Directed by Sophia Hail

Little Coup Theatre Company

Brockley Jack Studio Theatre

15 – 19 July 2025

This review was first published by London Pub Theatres Magazine:https://www.londonpubtheatres.com/review-its-not-all-about-coffee-at-brockley-jack-studio-theatre-15-19-july

Extraordinary Women

Sarah Travis & Richard Stirling from novel by Compton Mackenzie

Directed by Paul Foster

Jermyn Street Theatre

 

Star rating: 2.5

 

Originally commissioned by Guildford School of Acting and filmed during Covid, this musical take on a rather weary, satirical 1928 novel is good in parts.

We’re on the fictional island of Sirene (a not very well disguised Capri) where the sirens lure  women with “sapphic” inclinations to pursue their passions – especially in the case of Rory Freemantle (Caroline Sheen) who owns the property and the elusive, charismatic, disruptive Rosalba (Amy Ellen Richardson). The wailing sirens, clad in what appear to be plastic macs in pastel shades, have a minor key refrain which bears a close resemblance to the fairies in Iolanthe calling their titular sister out of exile. Make up your own mind whether this is homage to Arthur Sullivan or unconscious borrowing.

The story is complex, and not always clear, as six women – each excessive in her own way and said to be based on lesbian or bi-sexual women Mackenzie knew – set up trivial intrigues with each other. Cue for bitchy jealousy and over acted gesturing to ham up the satire. It’s quite amusing but, of course, a modern audience doesn’t recognise the caricatures and attitudes to same sex love have changed completely in the last 97 years.

Nonetheless all the performances are pleasing with especially fine work from Jack Butterworth, the only man in the cast of seven. His multi-roling becomes comedy in its own right as he appears repeatedly in a kilt with a Scottish accent, then as the deliciously wet, camp Daffodil with cut glass vowels and as an Italian police officer – and more. He is evidently having a lot of fun and so are we. Also outstanding is Sophie Louise Dann whose turn as the frumpy Miss Chimbley is very funny, especially as she then morphs into other soppier roles with aplomb.

As for the choreography, well, Joanna Goodwin has done her best within Jermyn Street’s limitations although there is too much  arm-writhing, especially from the sirens.

It’s a pleasure to hear good singing in a small space like Jermyn Street because it doesn’t need mics and all, therefore feels acoustically natural which is refreshing. However, the music in this piece is pretty forgettable although well enough accompanied by MD Sam Somerfield (who also did the orchestrations) on piano and James William-Patterson on guitar and double bass.

Photograph by Steve Gregson

Top Hat

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Based on RKO’s Motion Picture, adapted for stage by Matthew White & Howard Jacques
Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall
Chichester Festival Theatre

Star rating: 4

A piece as daft as Top Hat works only if you warmly embrace the cheesiness and run with it. And this production does exactly that – in spades.

Dating from 1935 and effectively a vehicle to showcase the phenomenal talents of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Top Hat’s flimsy plot matters a lot less than the elaborate dance routines. And the sustained, energetic, vibrant, ensemble tap numbers are what will linger in the memory about this production, despite a false start at the beginning on press night because of an unaccountably wet floor which had to be dried off.

Jerry Travers (Phillip Attmore) is a top flight performer who comes to London from New York to work for impresario, Horace Hardwick (Clive Carter – nice foil). Practising dance moves in a hotel room, they disturb the women in the room below and soon there’s chemistry between Travers and Dale Tremont (Lucy St Louis). Cue for many jokes, misunderstandings, situation comedy and mistaken identity before the inevitable all-singing, all-dancing (literally) happy ending.

Attmore is totally on top of Jerry Travers, the Fred Astaire role. He finds masses of charismatic attractiveness in the character so that of course, women are drawn to his blend of suavity and vulnerability. He dances with riveting lightness and precision and sings with passionate warmth. And St Louis more than matches him. Her dancing has a delicate smoothness and they work well together. The rather beautiful dance which follows “Cheek to Cheek”, for example, has exactly the same function as a climactic pas-de-deux in a classical ballet – expressing the feelings of two people newly in love. And it’s a show stopper.

Among the support cast – all of them strong – there’s an outstanding performance from Sally-Ann Triplet, Hardwick’s feisty, knowing wife, Madge. She has some of the funniest lines in the show and delivers them like rapier thrusts. And James Clyde has huge fun with Hardwick’s valet, Bates, trying to be helpful by adopting disguises.

Peter McKintosh’s magnificent set is predicated on a gaudily illuminated arch and clockface beneath which a revolving flat provides a whole series of slick scene changes including a hotel bar and two different bedrooms: it’s glitzy, glamorous and fits the tenor of the show perfectly.

Then there’s a splendid unseen orchestra (MD Stephen Ridley) making all those familiar melodies sound slick, fresh and lively. Percussion work by James Gambold is especially fine.

Of course this is a comedy and, as such, invokes plenty of laughter although relentless punning feels out of place in anything other than a pantomime. Moreover, the second half is too long. But, if you take it on its own terms, it’s an enjoyable show – and probably the most flawless tap dancing you’ve seen in quite a while.

Photograph credit: Johan Persson

Time And Time Again – Seven Dials Playhouse, London

Reviewer: Susan Elkin

Photo of The Reviews Hub - London The Reviews Hub – LondonJuly 21, 2025

0 1 minute read

Director and Deviser: Ioana Pitic

An ambitious 55-minute piece, destined for Edinburgh, Time and Time Again depicts friendship between two women, taking in issues such as migration and separation.

Becca (YY Yong) and Zoe (Stephanie Renae Law) meet at primary school in China and become friends who promise to support each other. Inevitably, as they grow up, their lives take different paths. Becca goes to university in London and settles with a successful career in the UK. Zoe stays put, and after much rather confusing shilly-shallying, marries.

Both actors are competent, although Law is marginally more convincing. Their lithe physicality is quite impressive.  And there’s a great deal of neat miming against a background of Inez Ruiz’s slick sound design, which includes the ticking of a clock to indicate the passage of time. The set comprises six upright chairs with empty backs which are imaginatively used to become an exercise bike, a bath, public lavatories, beds, screens for Zoom meetings and more.

The storytelling, however, is fuzzy. The narrative moves backwards and forwards, possibly to suggest alternative outcomes and paths. Despite the old-fashioned radio dial projected on the back wall to indicate which year we’re in, the chronology is muddled.

It’s an interesting idea for a play, but it is trying to do too much at once and therefore lacks focus. And why is it so darkly lit?

Reviewed on 20 July 2025 and then plays at Edinburgh Fringe 

The Reviews Hub Score 2.5

Watchable but weak

         

Pretty Witty Nell

Written and directed by Ryan JW Smith

Rogue Theatre

Barons Court Theatre

 

Star rating: 3.5

 

Modern plays written in iambic pentameter are always refreshing and Mike Bartlett does not have a monopoly. This autobiographical, one woman take on Nell Gwynne includes a lot of end rhyme too, usually on alternate lines. And it certainly flows.

Clarissa Adele is on stage, in role, bantering and flirting with the audience as they arrive.  Gwynne was, after all, one of the first generation of women to perform on British stages once the monarchy had been restored in 1660 and Puritan privations swept away. So her holding court in a theatre is an effective conceit.

We then get a 55 minute monologue telling the story of her birth in a brothel, career as an orange-selling prostitute before becoming an actress and catching the eye of the “Merry Monarch” who elevated her and the two children she bore him to wealth and respectability of sorts.

Adele is an accomplished performer and very good at saucy double-entendres and a range of voices – as she imitiates Charles II, Cromwell, Queen Katharine and others. Sometimes however her gestures become a bit samey and in places the text is a rather gabbled. The piece could afford to slow down a little. Five minutes on the length wouldn’t hurt.

This play would be a good history lesson for anyone new to the cataclysmic events of the seventeenth century although you have to make allowances for dramatic licence. For example. there were 59 signatures on Charles I’s death warrant of which Cromwell was just one. He was not solely responsible for the regicide as this play suggests. Nonetheless Gwynne’s account of the exhumation and desecration of his body is nicely depicted through Adele doing simple but ingenious things with a wig she holds in front of her. It’s powerful story telling.