Guest Blog: Ciaran McConville On THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS at Rose Theatre Kingston

Adapting The Wind in the Willows for the stage has been such a circuitous and unexpected process. I reread the book last Christmas and understood, but couldn't define, its enduring appeal. As a novel, it's gloriously messy - at times conventional and at others surprisingly radical. Kenneth Grahame switches genres mid-chapter, offers no consistency on the physics of his fictional world, and his views on class, sex and gender all feel stuffy by today's standards.

Most of all, most of the principal characters don't change; they end as they began. That's sweetly reassuring, but tricky when moving it to the stage. However, the characters are gloriously drawn and Grahame's lyricism is exquisite. He brings a beautiful sense of mischief and then counters it with a deep yearning to escape.

Two years ago, we brought in Rose Youth Theatre to be the driving force behind our Christmas storytelling. We found that the children gave us greater license to take our family audiences on a real adventure; the charm of the young actors allowed us to heighten the peril and to play bold emotional beats that speak to the adults.

The Youth Theatre students initiate the action, work alongside our professional cast in almost every scene and have the opportunity to collaborate with a truly wonderful design team. It's their story and they take on both the authorial voice and play key characters throughout.

Built from the blueprint of the Rose in Bankside, Kingston has a challenging stage. It can be unforgiving to the inexperienced (and sometimes those actors who should know better, too). This year, I spent three months auditioning 300 young people aged 9-19 in order to assemble a company of 46. I wasn't looking for coached technique, or a slickness of style, but rather children who brought their own voice to a scene, responded on impulse to their scene partners, offered strong choices and generously supported the other auditionees.

The result is special. These young actors are not only lovely, grounded people, but the training we've given them over a short time (we started classes in August) has offered dramatic breakthroughs, joyous belly laughs and, for me, embarrassingly, regular tears of pride.

It's a real privilege to work with these children, to help them find the confidence to connect to a language and world imagined over a hundred years ago, as if The Wind in the Willows were newly created in front of our eyes.

I think the secret behind mixing experienced professionals and young amateurs is not to question the capacity of either, but to work on the basis that each learns from the other. I have seen adult actors bring a scene to a halt because they're so stunned by the genius of a ten-year-old, and I've seen children light up with sheer delight at watching grown-ups being so skilfully silly!

The Rose was established to produce great plays, tell wonderful stories and open theatre up to the community. We're surrounded by big commercial theatres that have a well-established tradition of Christmas panto. It made sense for us to go in a different direction, and it seems to work.

I feel a huge sense of responsibility about our first-time audience (which includes the several thousand school children who receive free tickets). I want them to feel enthralled. Rather than undermining jeopardy in a story, as panto does, I want to take them on a journey they can believe - a real adventure. I want them to come to the theatre not only to enjoy the spectacle, but to feel intensely and to leave the theatre excited about their next visit.

The story of The Wind in the Willows opens, as I'm sure you know, with a little Mole emerging into a world he didn't know existed, a world that gives him the voice to affect change and make courageous choices. What better story could there be to train the minds of young actors and engage an audience of children and their parents?

The Wind in the Willows is at Rose Theatre Kingston 6 December-3 January, 2017

Photo credit: Mark Douet