The Wind in the Willows

If the big hype musical of 2017 is the ultra-American 'Hamilton', then the new musical in the physically largest theatre is the none-more-British 'The Wind in the Willows'. Adapted by Julian Fellowes, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe from Kenneth Grahame's timeless book about the anthropomorphised animal antics in Toad Hall and its surrounds, the show has already successfully premiered at the Theatre Royal Plymouth and will retain its current lead, Rufus Hound, as blundering fop Mr Toad. With the story often regarded as rather twee, the producers seems keen to stress they're taking a different tack here, billing it as a 'riotous comedy' and 'an explosion of anarchy, humour and heart'. Good luck to them: the vast Palladium has proved notoriously difficult to fill in recent times, which presumably explains why 'The Wind in the Willows' is only booked in for a limited summer engagement.