The cast list for this production will be posted shortly.

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Warminster Lower School’s production of Wind in the Willows at the Merlin last week gave the Headmaster, he said, ‘aching face muscles from smiling so much’. This is because both he and the rest of the audience had been transported by the joy and exuberance that Warminster School children brought to this classic tale.

The play, the famous adaptation by Alan Bennett, started with all the woodland characters, rabbits, otters, weasels, stoats and the like, performing a funky street dance and so bringing a youthful, contemporary buzz to the Edwardian glades of Berkshire. It also set the tone for the entire evening - this was going to be a production in which the whole cast gave it their all.

The main thrust of the story, as we all know, is about the exploits of the irrepressible Toad and how he is eventually saved from the results of his own foolishness by his loyal friends.

Matt Stone’s portrayal of Toad was masterly: swaggering, enthusiastic, capricious, mischievous and generous in equal measure. His assumed prostration in the invalid chair as he beguiles Ratty into believing he is in a terminal decline was a high point:

‘ I could have been an actor I suppose though it’s no job for someone of my intelligence.’

and it brought the house down.

Alex Shad as Ratty and Kathryn Rush as the Mole were both ‘thowoughly’ nice chaps and portrayed very well the contrasting characters of these two unlikely friends; Jordan Hitch gave a deep-throated gravitas to the role of Badger.

This is of course a landscape peopled with a rich variety of characters: Ben Higgens’ down-trodden horse Albert, Hannah Connabeer’s Bargewoman, Jess Stannard’s Gaoler’s daughter and the sinister black-clad brotherhood of Stoats and Weasels (Chris Cox, Huw Vaughan-Johns, Will Pratt, Harry Lee, Skip Greig and Hamish Godbold), were all particularly memorable.

Congratulations must go as well to those behind the scenes especially to Miss O’Brien for a charming and effective set, and props which were bound to prove a challenge: a boat for messing about on the river, a canary-coloured cart and, of course, that motor car…. In the event, all these items were satisfyingly three-dimensional and capable of movement and must have required hours of work by the production team.

Thank you to Mr Todres and Miss Hooper for directing The Wind in the Willows this year and for making such a delightful evening possible. The audience loved it and the performers quite obviously loved doing it.

Well, the final curtain has now fallen on another amazing show by the Drama Department.

Warminster School's Lower School production of Lord of the Flies at the Merlin Theatre in Frome was thought-provoking and moving and proved a demanding choice for both actors and directors. Based on the haunting novel by William Golding, the play is set on a tropical island. It is the 1940s and a group of English schoolboys are marooned after a plane crash. All the adults have been killed and we watch with horrified fascination as the thin layers of civilization are stripped away from the young protagonists and they are increasingly at the mercy of primitive fears, amoral hierarchies and bloodlust.

The boys and girls of Warminster rose to this sombre and difficult drama with energy and passion. Ralph was played by Patrick Williams, exuding the mild but determined manner of the noble young character who desperately tries to support weaker boys and uphold fairness and justice. Natasha Eeles used her height and voice to good effect and gave a convincing performance as the arrogant, charismatic Jack whose powerful personality comes to dominate and corrupt the other children. The dark, menacing character of Roger, played by Hannah Boyd, adds to the boys’ sense of hopelessness by pointing out that the adult world is too busy fighting a World War to come to their rescue. They must fend for themselves.

As the boys break up into two opposing 'tribes', their separation was cleverly evoked through the use of a gauze curtain which divides them on stage and becomes the barely visible barrier between civilisation and savagery.

Alex Shad played the role of Simon, conveying very well his sensitivity and thoughtfulness. Simon becomes the first victim of the boys' superstitious violence, killed before he can bring them news that they have no need to fear 'The Beast'. Tommy Joyce played a heart-breakingly vulnerable Piggy who endearingly proposes 'meetings' to hold back the anarchy. Piggy too is ritually slaughtered as the schoolboys descend into a vortex of tribal violence and the regime of Jack, the self-obsessed tyrant, prevails.

  The bleak minimalist set, the ritualistic chants and movements, and some convincing individual performances, all contributed to make this a powerful visual and dramatic enactment of evil (almost) triumphing over good.

Head of Drama, Damian Todres says, "After 10 weeks of intensive rehearsals the pupils put on an amazing performance. As a show it has been problematic. The action takes place in at least three separate locations simultaneously, is very dialogue heavy and there are dark and mature themes throughout. We had to find lots of ways of making it watchable and accessible for all. If you did not manage to make it to the shows, please contact the school for the professional DVD and photographs.

Miss Hooper and I do hope our audiences enjoyed the result and we do hope that you will return with us to the Merlin Theatre in November for the Senior School Show, Coram Boy."