THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS – Chichester Festival Theatre

The inquisitive Mole abandons spring-cleaning his burrow and, to his delight, discovers the river. There he meets Ratty, a water vole with a passion for boats. Soon the two are firm friends and settle down to life in Ratty’s riverbank home, surrounded by the neighbouring otters, rabbits, fieldmice and hedgehogs.

Over at Toad Hall, the ebullient Toad persuades them to join an excursion in a horse-pulled caravan – only for disaster to strike when they are overturned into a ditch. But the accident ignites Toad’s passion for motorcars…

And Mole can’t resist the temptation of another adventure, braving the snowy and threatening Wild Wood to find the elusive Badger, who welcomes Mole and Rat into his own cosy home.

But can the three friends save Toad from the consequences of his terrible driving, and defeat their enemies, the hungry and wily weasels and ferrets?

Alan Bennett’s stage adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 story, originally seen at the National Theatre, has become a classic in its own right: faithful to the spirit of Grahame’s immortal characters while laced with Bennett’s inimitable wit, making this a delight for children and adults alike.

Dale Rooks, whose Chichester productions include The Butterfly Lion, The Midnight Gang and Pinocchio, directs a Chichester Festival Youth Theatre show that perfectly combines humour and enchantment with a delicious shiver of danger.