The Lion, Witch and The Wardrobe

Following its publication in 1950, CS Lewis' 'The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe' has been read and loved by generations. It has been serialised for television three times, filmed once for the cinema, and adapted for the stage on several previous occasions. But nothing could have prepared me for the spectacle and passion of this version of the Leeds Playhouse production, currently playing at Norwich Theatre Royal.
 
With a running time of just over two hours, this show certainly held the attention of all the children sat around me. Meanwhile, I was utterlly spellbound by the action and special effects, bewitched by the creativity of the sets, and enchanted by each and every performances from this ensemble cast.
 
Using a single background stage set, augmented with special effects, spectacular lighting, and an imaginitive use of props and cast, our hearts and souls are completely encaptured by the four Pevensie siblings as they wave goodbye to their mother at the railway station, and are whisked away from wartime London to the home of the eccentric Professor Kirk. Their journeying through the wardrobe to the winterland of Narnia and back is accompanied by seamless and impressive transitions of noise, mist and light. The arrival of Mr Tumnus is every bit as magical as I remember from my childhood. And the arrival of the Snow Queen is a shimmering spectacle in itself. And this all happens 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 pupeteers and joined at the hip by a real-life actor in a kind of reversal of the technique used in the film 'The Golden Compass'.
 
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 places. 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 includes 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.