Theatre Royal& Royal Concert Hall Nottingham – until Sat 5th February 2022
Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh
5*****
The stage strewn with suitcases, a soldier takes inventory of the audience and then begins to play wartime songs on a piano. Immersive, we are invited into the world of a witch, a wardrobe and lion…but first, it’s world war 2 and people are sending their children as far away to safety as they can.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe centres around four sibling evacuees, Lucy, Susan, Edmund and Peter Pevensie. Sent to Scotland to escape the bombing during the time of World War 2, parted from their parents, they are plunged into adventure upon the encounter of a peculiar Professor and his wondrous wardrobe. The children embark on unexpected adventures in the winter-locked land of Narnia through the fur filled wardrobe, in the spare room.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is, simply put, a stunning piece of theatre. The pace, the music, the action all combined to stimulate the senses in the best way. Children and adults alike loved it. I found myself regressing at points and lost myself in the drama and camaraderie of the Narnians. There was laughter, at the antics of the Beaver folk and the most charismatic cat you will ever encounter and there were tears at loss, bravery and the true meaning of togetherness.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is filled with dynamic and dramatic direction, including flying and other spectacular effects. The bewitching set design and stylised costume, combined to bring together the two worlds of Narnia and World War 2 England seamlessly and at times, dreamlike. The quick set changes, with the use of light, flowing materials, floating doors, handheld movable fixtures, were genius and gave the production a dance like quality throughout, which reinforced all the musical numbers.
It was lovely to see such diversity in a traditional production, with the children being played by nonwhite actors. This showed adding diversity to a production does not interfere with the story telling and should be encouraged to add to the rich tapestry of performers we have in the industry.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’s mind-bending and beautiful mix of actor/musicianship and puppetry delighted, enthralled, and thrilled the audience. The puppetry aspects are spectacular with seamless and realistic fluid movements and sounds. The actor/musicianship are a revelation, they flooded the senses as we were surrounded by music and movement.
There were no standout actors/performers as they all worked so well together, and the sense of family flowed throughout. After taking their bows, they came back to reprise a song, all picking up drums, various instruments and singing, reinforcing the family feeling. The emotions could be seen on all the actors faces and engaged my heart and mind once more.
In the words of the Professor, ‘The mind is like a parachute, it only works when it is open’. I would add the heart to that analogy and urge you to see this amazing production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, as you will have your heart and mind opened and filled with joy after seeing it.