The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Regent Theatre, Stoke on Trent Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by H Chan
We were invited to The Regent Theatre in Stoke on Trent, to watch the opening night of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which is on tour across the country. It is powerful, emotive and a work of art! Everything works so well together, shadows, lighting, movement and choices of props and backdrops.
The opening was fantastic, and really set the scene with a clever use of props, lights and music. You were completely immersed in war-time Britain from the moment the story began. This classic, follows the story of the Pevensie children, who are evacuated to a country residence. Peter is played by Jesse Dunbar, Susan by Joanna Adaran, Edmund by Bunmi Osadolor and Lucy by Kudzai Mangombe. All wonderful casting choices, I have nothing but praise for them all. The children are encouraged by the Professor, played by Kraig Thornber, enter the wardrobe together, where their adventure unfolds. All of the important scenes are true to the book and follow the story well. I wasn’t expecting music, but it was woven throughout by very talented musicians and singers.
With adults playing the parts of children, it usually goes one of two ways. This show went the best kind of way, their characters were so believable and even my son, who’d asked why there were no children in the show originally, had completely forgot this fact until the end when I asked him if it had made a difference. He’d been so engrossed in the story and the characters that he hadn’t even realised. They played the Pevensie children perfectly. The sibling rivalry was strong from the start, emphasising the tension between the two brothers in order to explain Edmund’s betrayal. I enjoyed how their characters came together at the end and understood each other.
Our first glimpse of Narnia was magical, with snow falling from above and white costumes and drapes used to give the illusion of winter. I loved it.
Ffion Haf was terrifying as Jadis, the White Witch. Her scenes were cold and intimidating, with excellent uses of puppetry and lighting. She had complete control of the stage. I really enjoyed her portrayal of the character, it was very powerful. She was my favourite character, and the puppets which surrounded her were very scary. Her big scene before the interval was breathtaking, everyone was on the edges of their seats. I have to shout out to Maugrim, played by Shane Antony-Whitely, his energy was amazing and he was simply terrifying.
Aslan’s character was very cleverly done, with talented puppeteers controlling a huge lion, with beautiful detailing, and performer Stanton Wright walking alongside giving voice and presence. The two were one, and if explained without seeing the show, it sounds strange. Once you’ve seen it, it makes perfect sense for it to be done this way, it just worked.
My Son’s favourite character, was Father Christmas! His bright musical number and extraordinary costume were a welcome bright scene after a scary one.
Everyone in the cast was amazing, the singing and voice projection spot on. There wasn’t anything that we didn’t hear or not understand. The linking of scenes was done really well, especially passing through the wardrobe and when Edmund was feeling the effect of the Turkish Delight!
This production is recommended for those aged six and up, I completely agree with this. Whilst some younger ones might find the pacing alright, it is on the longer side for young ones, running at just over two hours. There are darker themes, which can be scary at times, but I think even those who struggle to understand the wording, will understand what’s going on from the imagery. The only comment my son had that wasn’t glowing, was that it was loud. It is loud in places, but he does have sensory issues. A pair of ear defenders would have solved this easily though.
The show is running from Tuesday June 3rd, until Saturday 7th June. You can find tickets here www.atgtickets.com with prices ranging from £15 to £57.50. I feel that the price point is spot on, and you get a lot of entertainment for the money. From our seats on row G, we had a great view of everything going on on the stage. I highly recommend those seats, and I highly recommend the show.
My son and I gave this show five out of five stars, what a fantastic team of people. My son talked about it the whole way home.
Rating: 5/5