The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
Good once again triumphs over evil, and joy and hope take the place of fear and oppression.
Norwich Theatre
'The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe' has been read and loved by generations. I myself was first introduced to it whilst still at primary school. It has been serialised for television, filmed for the cinema, and adapted for the stage on several previous occasions. However, nothing will prepare you for the spectacle and passion of this latest theatre production of Sally Cookson's original stage version of CS Lewis' children's classic novel, directed by Michael Fentiman. The show arrives fresh from the West End and is playing at Norwich Theatre Royal all this week as part of a UK tour to celebrate an amazing 75 years since Lewis' book was first published.
With a running time of just over two hours, the show certainly held the attention of both the children and adults seated in my vicinity. We were all captivated by the action and special effects, bewitched by the spectacular sets and lighting, and enchanted by performances from a talented ensemble cast, led by the four actors playing the children – Joanna Adaran (Susan), Jesse Dunbar (Peter), Judzai Mangombe (Lucy), and Bunmi Osadolor (Edmund).
With a strikingly lit set, stunning special effects and spectacular lighting, the show opens as the four Pevensie siblings are waving goodbye to their mother at the railway station, and are whisked away from wartime London to the home of the mysterious Professor (Kraig Thornber) and his housekeeper Mrs Macready (Katy Stephens). Their successive journeying through the wardrobe to the winterland of Narnia and back is achieved with suitably impressive sound effects, dry ice and atmospheric lighting transitions. The arrival of Mr Tumnus (Alfie Richards) is every bit as magical as I remember from my childhood. And the entrance of the Snow Queen (also played by Katy Stephens) is a shimmering spectacle in itself. And all of this occurs before the interval.
Only when we are settled back in our seats for Part Two do we meet Aslan the Lion, a marvellous animatronic construction from the same team that designed War Horse, worked by three puppeteers and joined at the hip by a real-life actor (Stanton Wright) in a kind of reversal of the technique used in the film 'The Golden Compass'. The Professor's cat, aptly enough named Schrödinger, and various other woodland creatures, are also accompanied on stage by their life-sized puppeteers.
Cleverly side-stepping most of the more obvious Christian allegories within CS Lewis' original story, this contemporary re-telling follows a much more naturalistic path, almost pagan in nature. The re-birth of Aslan and the banishment of Winter is seen more as a cyclical continuation of the seasons than a resurrection. Mr and Mrs Beaver are depicted as resistance revolutionaries rather than bumbling rodents. And the Snow Queen's kilted henchmen lead a reign of cold terror with the authoritarian air of menace often associated with dictatorial regimes. The music and choreography infuses a powerful sense of Celtic spirit, and of traditional dance, and there are strong environmental references to the effects of cutting down forests and polluting the rivers and oceans.
But, in keeping with the storyline of the original work, good once again triumphs over evil, and joy and hope take the place of fear and oppression.
CS Lewis' creation remains in safe hands in this spectacular re-telling. Respectfully honouring the legacy of the original work, the show dazzles with its own sense of splendour and majesty, and sends us home with a renewed sense of hope and humanity amidst these presently troubled times.
