An entirely local cast and crew will bring the latest stage show to the Gaiety Theatre this weekend.

Robin Higgins, the director of the forthcoming Service Players' production ’Wind in the Willows’, has employed a fully local team of actors, stage crew, costume makers and set builders to make the show a reality, proving that there should be no reason why the border closures should stop the production of professional standard theatre on the island.

The Wind In The Willows opens tonight (Thursday) from 7.30pm and features local stage stars Chris Caine, Gemma Varnom, Simon Fletcher and John Snelling as Toad, Mole, Ratty and Badger the four famous residents of the Wild Woods who team up to save Toad Hall from the wicked weasels and scheming stoats.

The play is the stage version written by Alan Bennett, in 1991, adapted from the original novel written by Kenneth Grahame.

Robin said that the lockdown offered the Service Players the opportunity to put on the play which was too good to turn down.

’For me personally, Wind in the Willows is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,’ said Robin.

’I grew up with the old Cosgrove Hall animated series, which had David Jason as Toad, Peter Sallis as ratty and Sir Michael Hordern as Badger. That was wonderful I grew up admiring it.

’Ideally, I wanted to completely have my own version and spend a couple of years writing it, composing the music using local musicians and so on.

’But with everything we have just gone through with the lockdown, and the fact that we had to cancel our spring show, we thought we would crack on to do this.

’I decided to grasp the nettle and go for it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do my own version and all the things I wanted to do, but at least we could have a good crack at it and it will be fun.

’More or less everything and everyone we have had to work with has come from the Isle of Man,’ he continued.

’The only things we have got from across is Toad’s costumes. But apart from that, everything has been done and made here on the island.

’We have designed our own sets and had them made locally. We are building boats, cars, trains, barges and caravans, everything over here. Costumes to set and right through to staging it. The cast, the crew are all local people.

’I suppose having to rely purely on what we have on the island to put the show on means that we are going a bit "old school" with this show. That’s the way things used to be done.

’But it is really nice to be able to do something to the most professional level we can with all the people from the Isle of Man. It’s something we can all do together and pull in loads of local actors and musicians and many others.

Tickets for the ’The Wind in the Willows’ which runs for three nights from 7.30pm, with a matinee at 2pm on Saturday, are £17.50, with concessions and under 16s £12.50, available from the Welcome Centre or the Villa Gaiety Box Office, on 600555, or online from villagaiety.com

by Mike Wade

Twitter:@iomnewspapers