THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE | STAGE PREVIEW
Magic furniture that leads to an enchanted land is the stuff childhood is made of and I’d bet there isn’t a child who, having read CS Lewis’s timeless classic, didn’t try to get through the back of their parents’ wardrobe.
The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe takes place during World War Two when siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are evacuated from London and sent to the countryside to live with professor Digory Kirke. While playing hide and seek on a boring rainy day, Lucy burrows into a forest of fur coats and emerges into a land of talking animals and mythical creatures. Narnia is under the spell of the White Witch – “It is always winter but never Christmas” – and it’s up to the children to break that spell, but when Edmund’s love of Turkish Delight leads him into danger, events take a different turn.
Directed by the Sherman’s own Rachel O’Riordan, who was also at the helm for the venue’s 2014 Christmas production Arabian Nights, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe is perfect Christmas storytelling, guaranteed to leave you spellbound. There is nowhere more enchanting than Narnia. You will not forget Mr Tumnas the faun, Mr and Mrs Beaver or brave Aslan the lion, and even adults will be checking the back of the wardrobe when they get home.
Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Fri 4-Thurs 31 Dec, Tickets: £12-£25. Info: www.shermancymru.co.uk
words LYNDA NASH
photo DAVE_S.