Animal Outfitters For Stage Show

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31764, 22 August 1968, Page 3

Animal Outfitters For Stage Show

Apart from some minor irritations—such as where to find a graduate’s gown for the usher, and some driving glasses for Toad—costuming a cast of animals for the Children’s Theatre production of “Toad of Toad Hall” has not pre sented the ingenious outfitters with any difficulties. They are Mrs P. Grant, the wardrobe mistress, and Mrs E. Neale, the “head-maker.” This production had been performed twice before, the last time five years ago, though new costumes were made for most of the main characters, said Mrs Grant. Badger, Rat, Toad and Mole all have new heads designed and made by Mrs Neale. These are not masks but rather head-pieces where the wearer’s face is visible. “If you cover the whole face you lose the facial expression which has taken weeks for the character to develop,” said Mrs Grant Comfort Important

“The comfort of the wearer is also important," said Mrs Neale. Full heads were often too heavy for relaxed movement across the stage.

One minor difficulty was that Toad could not hear very well through his green padded ears, and eyelets had to be punched, said Mrs Neale.

Where they were unsure about details the two women searched in children’s books.

“Mole was usually represented looking up but this was too difficult so I just gave him a turned up nose,” said Mrs Neale who has taken pains to ensure that the chief characters have heads of different materials and different textures. Fur, Suede Badger’s head-piece is made from black and white furs; Toad's from suede cloth; Rat’s from camel hair; and Mole's is made from treated velvet, said Mrs Neale. All whiskers are from brooms.

The masks for the woodland folk—the ferrets, the weasels, rabbits, stoats and squirrels—were made by Mr George Worthington for a former production, and these will be used again. Both women have had experience behind the footlights although Mrs Neale has not worked with adults before. She feels she has come a long way since she made some heads for guinea pigs for a school production. “I couldn’t get any expres-

sion on to their faces and they ended up looking like young calves,” she said. Well Cast

Both feel that the main characters have been wonderfully type-cast Rat has a long slender body. Toad is rotund with marvellous eyes, the Mole is a self-effacing little animal, and the Badger has a very good deep voice. The photograph shows Mrs Grant (left) and Mrs Neale with the animal heads.