16 – 20 September
From the moment the four Pevensie children are sent north on the night train to Scotland to avoid WWII’s London Blitz, to the moment Aslan the great lion spirit engages the evil White Witch in a battle involving deep magic, director Michael Fentiman’s touring adaptation of C S Lewis’s 1950 Christian-rooted tale, given extra dimension by Toby Olie’s imaginative puppetry and illusions from Chris Fisher, rarely failed to thrill or intrigue.
Remaining true to Lewis’s story, the narrative is bolstered by actor musicians who create both threatening and heart-warming atmospheres with accordion, guitar, fiddle, cello, double bass and clarinet, also singing in rich harmonies, while providing an extraordinarily disciplined and colourful ensemble around the main characters. Movement of the 20-plus cast was well orchestrated throughout by choreographer Shanelle ‘Tali’ Fergus, able to smoothly transition from the more intimate moments to the mayhem at the Stone Table.
Tom Paris’s set – narrow concentric circles of white light on a largely dark background – had the look of a time piece that hinted at the warp between the real world and that of the fantastical Narnia, the only disappointment perhaps a lack of snow on the other side of the wardrobe, slightly undermining the idea of the White Witch’s power to inflict a hundred years of winter!
Young adults Joanna Adaran as Susan, Jesse Dunbar as Peter, Kudzai Mangombe as Lucy and Bunmi Osadolor as Edmund as the Penvensie kids began quite blandly at the start, but improved their conversational timing and lost their early stiffness as the evening progressed. Arriving at their temporary new home in the north they are greeted by the owner – an ageing Professor played with palpable warmth by the excellent Kraig Thornber, who later doubles as a fabulously attired and high-kicking Father Christmas, whose arrival signals that the Witch’s influence over Narnia is beginning to wane.
All eyes are on Lucy as she explores the professor’s house and comes across an imposing wardrobe centre stage while following his (puppet) cat Schrödinger. And, despite the lack of aforementioned snow, the transition from one world to the next is none-the-less magically staged. Later, and with fantastical effect from Jack Knowles’ moody lighting, the doors will fly across stage as if in a whirlwind when the children seek an escape from their new world.
Of course, the story would be nothing without the tension between the forces of good and evil. Katy Stephens is always imposing as the White Witch. An immediate presence whenever on stage, she is sensationally so when soaring to the roof at the end of Act I. Her henchman Maugrim (Shane Anthony-Whiteley) oozes threat and terrifying malevolence, while the arrival of Aslan captures a real sense of awe and majesty about the beast/spirit. Manipulated by three puppeteers, one who seemed to have intimately studied the swing of a lion’s tail, this gorgeous golden animal was accompanied by its human ‘daemon’ (Stanton Wright) luxuriously attired in a full-length fur coat, who effortlessly led us all to suspend our disbelief at this doubled persona on its powerful trajectory to self-sacrifice for the greater good.
★★★★☆ Simon Bishop, 17 September, 2025
