They are a timid lot, the creatures in Trina Haldar’s staging of The Wind in the Willows. They tread cautiously, moving only when safe, always alert to danger. When Ratty (Isobel Witcomb) offers her hand in friendship, Mole (Charlotte Dowding) sniffs it rather than shakes it. Deciding there is no threat, she turns and displays her backside – cue much merriment in the auditorium.
Their nervousness is justified. Danger is everywhere. Should they stray into the wild woods, dark and spooky behind the greens and russets of Nettie Scriven’s set? There they will have weasels, ferrets and stoats to contend with. Anywhere beyond their territory, there will be human beings.
