Knowing that all my theatregoing has to be planned way in advance due to care logistics and travel expense, alongside the fact I am, for the overwhelming majority of the time, restricted to matinees only means that I tend to go for the comfort of shows I am already familiar with, or with a beloved face making up the cast. I love working around the latter premise, as it has pushed me to see shows I wouldn't necessarily choose to see and had some incredible experiences as a result. I wanted 2023 to be the year I make more of a conscious effort to see more shows that were new to me, and as I'll detail in a future post, I think that's worked out pretty well. For my penultimate theatre visit of the year, I even managed to throw my first visit to a new theatre into that mix also, as I travelled to Narnia by way of Birmingham Rep, for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
Of course based on the second novel in C.S Lewis's iconic Chronicles of Narnia series, the story follows the Pevensie siblings: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy who are evacuated from London to escape the Blitz, and find themselves staying with Professor Kirke in (in this version anyway) the Scottish countryside. As they adjust to new circumstances, Lucy discovers a portal to the world of Narnia through a wardrobe and sets off a chain of events that sees the children fight to save the fantastical land and its inhabitants from the clutches of Jadis, the White Witch who keeps the land in eternal winter...
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe had its world premiere at Leeds Playhouse in 2017, originally directed by Sally Cookson. Following a run at London's Bridge Theatre, the production was reworked and remounted with a largely new creative team, new director at the helm and expanded score for a UK tour that kicked off in 2021, before transferring to the West End a year later. I missed all these iterations, so was delighted to see it as the festive staple at Birmingham Rep, and combined my visit with seeing a dear friend of mine. Having read the novel multiple times during childhood and adulthood and knowing it has had numerous screen adaptations over the years, alongside lots of love for the piece within certain corners of my theatrical circle, I was incredibly excited and curious to see how a story I knew would translate for the stage.
Whimsical is the word that springs to mind when I think about this production: there's a sense of joy, clever creativity and playfulness that is impossible to resist. The thing that struck me most about that is you can feel it even before we get to Narnia, most notably in the train journey: a combination of movement and striking set pieces. Having set up this evocative feel for the show from the outset means that by the time we do go through that iconic wardrobe, you're waiting with bated breath, and yet it doesn't disappoint: furs morph into dancers, snow was falling and the evocative lighting from Jack Knowles transports us utterly into a Narnia trapped in perpetual winter. I also thought the addition of a second smaller circular stage at the back was inspired as it allowed the action and cast to play around with height. There's always something to draw and delight the eye in terms of choreography (Shannelle "Tali" Fergus) particularly when the White Witch first enters, and the display of her power that draws act one to a close.
There's humour and clever touches aplenty in the costumes too, I particularly enjoyed Mr and Mrs Beaver's tails, and the fact that Tumnus has no horns or furry legs, but still feels undeniably a faun. He wears a bomber jacket, and our other Narnian cohorts also have costume elements nodding to the war theme, which I thought was a really clever way to draw parallel's between Narnia and the reality the children leave behind. The action is interspersed with songs from Benji Bower and Barnaby Race, and having fallen utterly for Benji's music work on Jane Eyre, which incidentally is another of Sally Cookson's productions, I was overjoyed to see a folk edge running through Narnia's music, including a tender reminiscence from Tumnus about the long forgotten spring, and a spirited number to mark the return of King Winter himself: Father Christmas. Anyone that knows me will know how much I love an actor - muso production as well, and somehow seeing Narnian creatures play cellos, accordions and the like doesn't feel out of place one bit! I later read that director Michael Fentiman and some of the cast and creative team here worked on the musical adaptation of Amélie, another production I didn't see but know lots of my theatre circle adored, and knowing what they loved about it I can see wholeheartedly those strengths and skills at play here.
I have The Grinning Man and War Horse to thank for opening my eyes to what puppetry can achieve and add to a production, and that feeling has only further increased and cemented here, thanks to Max Humphries puppetry design. The Professor has an aged cat named Schrödinger, who was brought to life by Jonathan Charles to repeated enthusiastic laughs and sheer delight from the rapt audience, a reaction only amplified when we eventually get our first glimpse of Aslan. The rightful king of Narnia is represented by an impressive terracotta lion head, tail and rear legs animated by Will Hawksworth, Anu Ogunmefun and Michael Larcombe, and Oliver Hoare as his voice and physical extension, also unmistakably lion like with his long mane and fur coat.
At first, I did find the double representation of Aslan somewhat jarring in terms of wanting to appreciate the puppetry and needing to also focus on Oliver, but that soon settled and I loved how the two forms came together: more on that shortly!
Photo credit: Mark Senior
The Pevensie children are played by Daniel Apea, Liyah Summers, Jerome Scott and Kudzai Mangombe respectively. I felt they had believable chemistry and it was really interesting watching them play all the dynamics that change and develop throughout the course of the story, especially where Edmund is concerned. I particularly enjoyed Liyah's interpretation of Susan, the eldest of the two sisters: she's smart and logical, but a little more fierce and fiery than I remember the character being in the novel, which was fun to see her play amidst trying to fill her absent mother's shoes. Kudzai is instantly endearing as the adventurous younger sibling Lucy, and Daniel's Peter and Jerome's Edmund have equally strong moments where they shine individually as well as a foursome; I enjoyed how the writing allowed for each sibling to feel distinct and to my mind, more interesting than other iterations I've come across.
Photo credit: Mark Senior
Cath Whitefield's take on the White Witch is effortlessly menacing, perhaps all the moreso as it feels understated; she knows exactly how she wants to play each scene, when to pull back and when to dial up the energy, and how to express a lot by doing very little. There's a deliciously dark undercurrent in the way she seems indifferent to her toying with Edmund when we first meet her, and that ramps up as the play goes on; I also delighted in the hints we get of a backstory between her and Aslan, she refers to him as "old friend" at one point, and thoroughly enjoyed the confrontation between the two prior to the pivotal Stone Table sequence.
Photo credit: Mark Senior
As mentioned before, Aslan takes puppet and physical form here, and though that took a little getting used to initially, it actually became one of my favourite elements of the entire show: Oliver is incredibly charismatic, his tone, inflection, and delivery beautifully complemented by the movement of the puppet: "Do not cite the deep magic to me, Witch, I was there when it was written" being a standout. Likewise, having Oliver as an extension of the puppet gives more layers and emotional depth to Aslan that you wouldn't get if he were represented by puppet alone, and I found that I was drawn to and understood the character better as a result.
Photo credit: Mark Senior
Elsewhere, warmth and belly laugh humour abound in Samuel Morgan- Grahame's & Ruby Ablett's Mr and Mrs Beaver, and Jez Unwin's sweet and sincere Tumnus makes a lasting impression in his scant stage time. Many of the ensemble triple or even quadruple up in various roles, be it Narnian animals or denizens of the White Witch, and the sheer focus and commitment to making each feel valuable and distinct is pure delight.
Knowing that the novel has distinctly religious connotations, I was struck by how easily Adamm Peck's writing and Fentimen's direction blend humour and poignancy, darkness and light without completely moving away from that symbolism, and was impressed by how well the action is paced.
First published in 1950, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been delighting readers for over seventy years. This bold, inventive and refreshing take on the story breathes joyous new life and layers into a story I thought I knew, and allowed me to be enchanted i n a whole new way.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe runs at Birmingham Rep until 28 January 2024
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