AFTER the extraordinary success of York Theatre Royal’s site-specific production of The Railway Children at the National Railway Children in 2008 and 2009, artistic director Damian Cruden has picked another favourite children’s book for his latest summer show, The Wind In The Willows.

Once more, Mike Kenny has provided the adaptation, Richard G Jones, the lighting, and Christopher Madin, the music, and at the heart of the show are two partnerships: Cruden and his co-director Katie Posner, associate director of Pilot Theatre, and co-designers Catherine Chapman and Lydia Denno.

The Theatre Royal has undergone a considerable transformation for Kenneth Grahame’s tale of Mr Toad, Mole, Ratty, Badger and the weasels, as “nature takes over the whole building” and the foyer and auditorium are turned into a rundown Toad Hall.

“There’s nothing wrong with a conventional theatre space, but there are some pieces of theatre that can be difficult to play there,” says Damian.

“That’s partly because it’s four foot from the floor to the lip of the stage at the Theatre Royal, which is great for some shows but for others it’s a neck-breaker, and for children it inevitably means they’ll be further away from the stage than you’d like them to be.

“The future of theatre is in flexible spaces, but you can become fixed in your mind as to what it’s capable of doing in terms of telling stories, and the future of telling stories is going to be different because there’s a wish in the Government to change what should be considered public services.”

In practical terms, that means a likely cut in funding – as much as 40 per cent is rumoured, according to Damian – and hence theatres face the challenge of adapting their physical space in more imaginative and different ways.

The Wind In The Willows is a foretaste of what may be possible, even in a financially constricted future.

“By turning the whole theatre into Toad Hall, it’s a great for children’s imaginations as it’s saying ‘you’re here to play,” says Damian… … “and not just to sit quietly to watch a show!” adds Katie.

“It’s interesting how we perceive what theatre is and what entertainment is. To be engaged and to entertain something is to let an idea in and then let it do something to you, rather than observe it from a distance,” says Damian.

“That’s what’s great about having seats on stage as audiences can almost play their part in the story,” says Katie.

While Damian has been away in London overseeing the opening of his latest production of The Railway Children at Waterloo Station, Katie has been conducting rehearsals for The Wind In The Willows, before Damian re-joined her last Tuesday.

“The creative process has gone really well. I think we’ve worked really well together, and what’s been nice is that I’ve felt completely trusted by Damian to crack on with the artistic director’s vision of the work and have my own ideas as well,” says Katie.

“Then Damian came back and in a way that was like being an editor, and now we’re working together as two pairs of eyes.”

“It’s also been about York Theatre Royal and Pilot Theatre working together, which is entirely appropriate,” says Damian.

The Wind In The Willows runs at York Theatre Royal until August 21. For tickets, phone 01904 623568 or book online at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk



DESIGNERS Catherine Chapman and Lydia Denno are working together for the first time, combining their talents on the Theatre Royal’s most spectacular show of the summer.

“We were both approached independently by Damian [Druden],” recalls Lydia.

“He asked each of us if we’d like to collaborate,” says Catherine. “We’d met socially and knew each other through the work we’d done separately at the Theatre Royal.

“It’s been great, because normally you’re working on your own and you worry that it might have been difficult if we’d had different artistic visions, but we started this together.”

“We started together, very much on the same page, even reading the script together,” says Lydia. “We have artistic similarities and similar ways of working… and a similar sense of humour, which helps it to roll along nicely.

“People have asked how the process has worked and initially the discussions took longer than normal, but once we had arrived at our decisions, the execution has been a lot smoother because there have been two of us involved.”

“We decided not to split the design and costumes, though it was never a formal decision we made,” says Catherine. “Designing on the scale we are, there are lots of unknowns, so having someone else to bounce ideas off made more sense.”


• YORK Theatre Royal is celebrating even more success with its London transfer of The Railway Children. Basking in the sunshine of rave reviews in the national press, Damian Cruden’s production is to stay on track at the former Eurostar terminal at Waterloo Station for much longer than first announced.

The run will be extended from the original closing date of September 5 to January 5 2011. Box office: 0871 297 0740. CH