The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Leicester's Curve Theatre is magical
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe currently playing at Curve Theatre is based on the novel by C S Lewis, with original production by Sally Cookson. Set in 1940, the opening scenes see the four Pevensie children - Susan, Peter, Lucy, and Edmund, evacuated during the blitz.
Poignant scenes are played out as the children are moved from London to Scotland during World War II, whilst "We’ll Meet Again" echoes throughout the auditorium. The scenes depicting the train journey with the Pevensie children are cleverly executed.
When the train arrives in the Scottish countryside, the characters and relationships of the children are further developed with each reacting differently when they are left waiting at the station. They go to live at a house owned by a kindly professor, excellently portrayed by Kraig Thornber (who incidentally grew up in Leicester, and attended Bosworth Community College).
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Thornber also plays an excellent, jolly Father Christmas who gives gifts to the Pevensie children in the production, which play a part in the childrens' survival in Narnia.
Not long after the children arrive at the professor's house, Lucy stumbles upon the wardrobe whilst the children are playing. She enters the land of Narnia and meets Mr Tumnus - a faun played by Alfie Richards.
They have tea and cake together after which he tells Lucy about the White Witch - played by Katy Stephens - the evil ruler of Narnia who has cast a spell on the land trapping it in an eternal winter. When she returns, she tells the other children all about her adventures through the wardrobe but the others don’t believe her.
Lucy tries to show the others how she travelled through the wardrobe but the portal to Narnia isn’t there. Later, she goes back through the portal and this time, Edmund goes in too.
Edmund meets the White Witch who lulls him under her spell helped by generous helpings of Turkish delight. She promises him more if he brings his brother and sisters back.
The end of act one is one to watch as the White Witch ‘floats’ high above the stage. Katy Stephens is excellent in the role, helped by her loyal wolves and ogres who surround her.
The second part of the performance introduces Aslan the lion. The puppetry for Aslan is incredible, and really makes this show unique. Puppetry for the other animals is also worth a mention as it was so well executed. My particular favourite was the professor's intelligent house cat.
The actors portraying Susan, played by Joanna Adaran, Peter, played by Jesse Dunbar, Lucy, played by Kedzai Mangombe, and Edmund, played by Bunmi Osadolor absolutely capture the essence of each role but also portray the dynamics of sibling relationships and rivalry. Each of the animals, played by actor musicians are really well characterised throughout, and gave a folk music feel to the proceedings.
Alongside Mr Tumnus, Mr and Mrs Beaver played by Anya de Villiers and Ed Thorpe portrayed their characters excellently - their mannerisms and the humour they brought to the roles was executed well.
The choreography - particularly the fight scenes - were really impressive in this performance. The storytelling flowed well, helped by the set which was really dynamic for this show. The scenes, including the children going through the wardrobe portal, and their arrival into Narnia, the train journey and the White Witch on her chariot coupled with the clever lighting made for a remarkable set.
A magical interpretation of this wondrous story. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is at Curve until Saturday, February 8.
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