MID CHESHIRE THEATRE GUILD.
Moulton Drama Group.

5th April 1982.

www.mdg.org.uk

" TOAD OF TOAD HALL."
by A.A. Milne.

THE PLAY.
For those who believe that future audiences should be introduced to the theatre from childhood, this play is a firm favourite .and a good choice. There is fairly wide scope for originality and initiative en presentation and treatment, scenes design, and casting of the players en the various delightful roles. There is room too, for introducing young performers to the stage often-with surprising and happy results.

SETTINGS.
Considerable thought had been given to the many sets. This was rewarded by a series of convincing, perfectly adequate scenes set in conjunction with the basic Woodland set, with it's tree wings. The painting on this main set was particularly good - with nicely spaced 'eyes' for the U/V sequence. Hinged book flats on either side provided Rat's and Badger's' rooms and here again the painting was ideal, with plenty of interesting detail. The Caravan is never an easy piece to make, but en this case et was most acceptable. A very good Court¬room with excellently positioned Bench, dock and Jury Box. The Cell was well suggested and Toad Hall, with chandelier and suits of armour, etc.., was remarkably effective. Considering the space at your disposal and the acting area you were able to make available this was all, very fine work.

LIGHTING.
Well lit, with good use of colour. That was arranged well - and aiming and timing of the strobe was satisfactory. The green light on Toad, en the sell scene was the only unsatisfactory rigging. It worked perfectly when Toad was sitting down, but later, et hit the players, rather strongly, at knee level. All lighting cues were executed with care.

SOUND.
The piano accompaniment was bright and lively - especially the arrangement of the Duck's Ditty. The playing always enhanced the production. Sounds; the River Bank, etc.., were well recorded and reproduced.

COSTUMES & MAKEUP.
A splendid array of costumes which must have entailed so much hard work that et seems a shame to peck out areas where improvements could have been of benefit. Badger's costume was excellent-so indeed was his make up-but would have been better without having eyes on the headpiece. We very often saw four eyes...and because the actor's were more expressive ... it would have been better just to have seen his. Toad's headpiece, with its green and dark spots was very good, but did not allow for his eyes to be quite clearly seen at all times .... and this was essential for Toad. His waistcoat looked very good, but he needed yellow somewhere (et is usually his waistcoat) - and more green in his make up would have been an asset. Alfred was most successful ... and so indeed were many of the other costumes. Wardrobe did well

DIRECTION.
First, a word about your presentation before the show even started. The display of photographs - the very good programme cover - the imposing lest of an enthusiastic Production Team - the decorative lighting, red and blue spots on the curtain - the rockery and plant decoration on the apron. All this helped to entertain and impress the audience as they arrived ... and helped to create the right mood. This kind of presentation is most commendable.

The solo voice singing the opening song, came from a clever Wildwooder on the balcony. Even though lit by a spotlight, I was I am quite sure, the only member of the audience tonight, who turned to see the singer. No one else was aware that he was there. The song was so well sung, it was worth him appearing on the darkened stage, in that single spot or at least in fronts of the tabs.

For some reason there was a fair amount of masking in the first Act and I cannot imagine that this escaped the director's eye at rehearsals. It started with Rat's position completely masking Toad's entrance. It couldn't have happened at a less desirable point. Mole, sitting on the hamper, masked Alfred and in retaliation, it seamed, Rat neatly masked Mole before she got off the hamper. Masking continued to be a problem, but never quite so obvious. It seemed as though firmer discipline with movement was necessary.

Grouping for "Down With Toad" was very good - and the song was enhanced by the lively gestures and vitality of one particular Wildwooder stationed D.L. Choreography for all the ensemble numbers and indeed "Duck's Ditty" was very good. It was remarkable that the addition of Toad, for the choruses brought the actor playing Rat completely out of himself and his performance shone alas, too briefly. But it proved, without doubt, that the actor was fully capable of giving much more of an outwardly projected performance. The director could well have called more firmly for this checking Rat's habit of playing much of the part with his head down and urging him not to keep his performance within the bounds of the proscenium arch.

Pace dropped after the car crash - where perhaps it could have increased a little more. In Badger's house, Toad's story was told by him in a position downstage of Rat, Mole and Badger. Toad was the focal point here, and it would have been a better and more interesting grouping to have had him at the apex of a triangle upstage of the other three so that he could have been seen to be addressing them.

Good carol singers ... this time with a very good actor in the middle of the group. He convinced us it was cold ... breathing on his hands and rubbing them together most realistically. Worth his weight in gold.

I'm sure that louder 'car noises' from Toad -.could have been appreciated by the younger members of the audience. Toad at play can be great fun.

"Duck's Ditty" was very well performed and immediately after it both Rat and Toad gave much more expressive performances. It seemed as though they had gained confidence in themselves. The director can sometimes in still confidence-which is really necessary from the first entrance.

Good solid attack lifted the production in the Courtroom scene. This came from the handling of parts like the Judge, the Policeman, and most enthusiastically from the Chief Weasel. Movement and grouping from this point on had no problems. Enthusiasm was infectious ... and so was the enjoyment that the cast were beginning to feel.

Perhaps the Aunt should have had her arms tied a little more firmly for the sake of realism and Toad's subsequent exit in this scene could have been far bigger and more effective.

The scene in Rat's house suffered from a pronounced drop in pace. This was at a point where the story needed to move a little more quickly. Excitement should have been building up.

The underground passage with lighting and mist effect looked very good indeed and the final scene went well, with quite excellent plotting.

Once again the lively Wildwooder D.L. showed enormous enthusiasm for "Poor Old Toad". This young person showed plenty of promise for the future.

The Curtain Calls were terribly quick. Far too quick. Wish so many people on the stage for the audience to look at, and appreciate, each curtain could have been held a little longer.

ACTING.

MOLE. A most sweet and friendly Mole with a good make up and the ability to play 'out front' when required. Whenever Carol dropped her eyes, it dulled the performance. Fortunately this did not happen too often. Very good delivery.

RAT. Richard requires confidence.. • .and why shouldn't he have it ? He blossomed superbly when singing with Toad - head up - eyes visible - plenty of expression. At other times his head was down, and the audience rarely saw his face. He must control one bad movement before it becomes a habit:- a nervous pace forward to say a line...then a pace back again. All this can be ironed out in the future, with the co-operation of the director. Richard showed promise and needs only further experience.

BADGER Exactly the right sort ,f voice and delivery for Badger, but the character of this older and wiser, more irritable and grumbling animal was not fully exploited. The voice could have been gruffer, the back more bent-perhaps by using a walking stick, and the irascibility of Badger fully explored. I felt sure the actor could have easily captured all this and more if such an interpretation had been envisaged.

TOAD. One of the best parts to be found in this type of play. Toad is brimful of character. John captured much of it. The conceit, the pomposity, the cheery friendliness and his blind faith in himself. It had all been considered and was present in John's performance but in too small a measure for the perfect Toad. Everything would have benefited from being that shade bigger so that Toad's swagger would positively command the stage on each appearance. Especially from a child's point of view, Toad needs to be big. The voice was good and quite suitable for Toad. Character was there right enough, but I felt sure that John could have lifted it to the right height.

ALFRED. Both ends of Alfred were very well played. A magnificent animal!

USHER. Well handled and convincing. The Usher looked right.

POLICEMAN I liked Peter's forthright delivery and lively performance. A good, belligerent policeman.

JUDGE. Cyril's attack on character, lines and business helped to lift the Courtroom scene to a fine level. With an eye on all the available comedy he made the most of the character. Gesture and facial expressions were used to advantage, and a quite splendid Judge was created.

PHOEBE A nice performance. Good feeling in her voice. Sally was entirely convincing.

WASHERWOMAN A splendid make up. Character had to be quickly formed and it was very good.

BARGE WOMAN Another actress who put plenty of feeling into very good delivery. Character was well expressed.

WILDWOODERS. CAROL SINGERS, ETC.. Although I have singled out one
(or two?) youngsters who have natural talent, all these young people looked absolutely right in their various costumes and they contributed a great deal to the overall presentation.

ENDEAVOUR. A fine choice of play which possibly demanded firmer handling in some aspects of direction to bring out fuller characterisation where necessary. Presentation was remarkably good, especially when difficulties of getting in are considered. Costumes enhanced the production. It seemed that everyone worked with a dedication that deserved success.

Geoffrey Kellett
Thank you for your welcome and hospitality