The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe: Review

Aslan returns to Lowry, Salford in the 75th anniversary of C.S. Lewis’ spellbinding children’s tale.

And what a magnificent return it is, capturing all the emotion, thrill and excitement of the story in a roller-coaster two hours that leaves us feeling like we’ve been truly transported to another world.

Lewis wrote the original just after the second World War, and it is in that conflict the story begins. There’s a moving rendition of ‘We’ll Meet Again’, train lights flashing across the stage, people everywhere on the move and four young siblings travelling as evacuees into the unknown.

The Pevensie children are off to Scotland, but for them it might as well be the other side of the world, or indeed as it turns out, a whole new world altogether.

The setting up of any story can sometimes feel a little slow. Yet here director Michael Fentiman keeps us invested from the very start with a busy stage of talented actor musicians and a cast of intriguing characters from the eccentric cycling Mrs Macready to the wise speaker of riddles, the Professor (Kraig Thorber) and his knowing cat, Schrödinger.

The children are played by young adults, recently graduated from drama school – Joanna Adaran as Susan, Jesse Dunbar as Peter, Kudzai Mangombe as Lucy and Bunmi Osadolor making his stage debut as the rebellious Edmund. Within the wider cast of fantastical characters, together they capture the wonder of childhood as well as both the camaraderie and rivalry of growing sibling relationships.

The move from wardrobe to Narnia feels as quick as the closing of a door. This is the snow-filled world we’ve been waiting for. But there is no celebration just yet. The White Witch has cast her icy spell over the land and rules Narnia with a coldness that turns good hearted creatures to stone.

Katy Stephens (who doubles up as Mrs Macready) brings genuine menace to the role. There is a darkness to her reign that means while the show is not recommended for children under 6 it has an edgy thrill for older children and adults alike. The Witch is guarded by wolves, which bound across the stage as half-creature, half-machine. And she has super-powers which see her fly on a curtain of icy sails, set tissues alight, and turn her Turkish delight sweet treats into a walking hallucination.

Coming to the interval we’re left thinking – Aslan has some work to do to top that!
He is worth the wait. The mere glimpse of his glowing mane as he appears at the back of the stage casts a magical spell on the audience. The puppet is a sight to behold. And alongside him is actor Stanton Wright as the gravelly voiced lion. Here Aslan is both man and beast and Wright’s measured characterisation means the two feel like a joined presence where one never outshines the other.

This cleverly staged play with music is a wonderful adventure that is sure to captivate the child in everyone. The show feels even more magical than I remember it at Lowry four years ago, or perhaps that’s because as The Professor tells the children, ‘Things never happen the same way twice’.

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is at Lowry, Salford from 3 December to 11 January 2025. Age recommendation 6+