Theatre News

Boris Johnson Turned into Toad Next to City Hall

28 July 2010

London Mayor Boris Johnson will find himself portrayed on stage next month in the shadow of City Hall.

Actor Paul Critoph is using Johnson as inspiration for the title character in Toad Hall!, a new musical version of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, which plays as part of the Scoop festival of free outdoor theatre at More London .

Director Phil Willmott told Whatsonstage.com: “It’s going to be great fun to perform Mr Toad’s adventures for families, beside Boris’ City Hall HQ. People keep spotting similarities between these charismatic, fun loving, posh boys and I think he’ll even enjoy the comparison.”

Toad Hall!, which is for family audiences, runs in rep with José Zorrilla’s Don Juan in Love
from 5 August to 5 September 2010. Willmott added, “Of course there’s
no similarity between the mayor and the womanising Don Juan in our
second show for grown-ups.”

According to press material, “Mayor Boris Johnsonʼs City Hall stands in for Toad Hall this summer when the Scoopʼs award-winning free theatre team bring their regular mix of comedy, puppetry, song, dance and adventure to a new outdoor adaptation of the family classic that’s fun for all ages.”

Since Scoop’s launch in 2003, over 200,000 people have attended theatre productions at Scoop Festival, which are produced by The Steam Industry. In 2006, the Scoop won the prestigious Peter Brook Empty Space Award for up-and-coming theatre of the year.