The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Amanda Dando
We love visiting the Waterside Theatre at Aylesbury, it’s a lovely theatre and very easy to access in the centre of Aylesbury, we have always been very lucky to find parking in the car park next door and it’s reasonably priced. Once inside the theatre there are several places you can buy drinks, snacks and programmes before taking your seat for the show.
It was very mixed audience tonight, lots of grandparents with their grandchildren, suggesting the much loved story from C S Lewis stands the test of time. It is a set of much loved books for me; I couldn’t wait to see this take place live on stage this evening. I was hooked from the opening scenes. The show opened with the most wonderful version of We’ll meet again based in the train station, the singing was just simply outstanding.
For those who do not know the story, 4 children, Lucy, Susan, Peter and Edmund are evacuated to Scotland during the war for their safety. Needless to say they encounter a witch a lion and the magical kingdom that is Narnia all via a wardrobe!
Make no mistake, this is a show with a very dark set, full of darkness and evil, but oh my, the light that shines from these incredible actors and actresses. They brought this story to life tonight in an incredible way. The staging, the costumes, the choreography were all outstanding, the singing and tunes for me had an Irish undertone, which bought the story to life in so many ways.
This is a very updated modern version of the story that was first published in 1950. The whole show completely captivated me. The witch, wow, the costumes and the staging for the white witch played wonderfully by Katy Stephens was something to behold, as was the puppetry surrounding Aslan himself, the lion was just magnificent.
For me, the sheer brilliance of the music is what brought everything together, violins, cellos, recorders, and many more instruments skilfully played by those on stage were just a triumph. The music made the show. Some of the scarier characters costumes were amazing, albeit possibly a little scary for the younger members of the audience.
All of the cast were fantastic, the four main characters were themselves very good, very believable, very brave! This is most definitely a must see show, if nothing else for the sheer staging of it all, it’s a real spectacle, a story of courage and good over evil. It was by far one of the best shows I have seen for a long time and would highly recommend catching before it leaves Aylesbury at the end of the week. I think there isn’t one of us who have read the book or seen the show that wouldn’t just for a moment want to visit Narnia, what a magical evening.
Rating: 5/5
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Tuesday 7 October to Saturday 11 October 2025
Tickets cost from £15 subject to a transaction fee of £3.95 available from www.atgtickets.com or call the Box Office on 0844 871 7607
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Exchange Street, Aylesbury, HP20 1UG