Edinburgh Lyceum
November 28th – 3rd January
19:00 (14:00 mat… wed/sat)
£15-£29

In Edinburgh this Festive season, it seems odds-on that the Lyceum has put on the best family show in the central belt, Theresa Heskin’s stage adaption of CS Lewis’ perennial favorite; the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. The story commences with an introduction to our four heroes -Lucy, Peter, Susan and Edmund – as they are evacuated from town to country in Britain at the start of World War Two.Although initially the stage seemed crammed, director Andrew Paton uses clever props (in particular the revolving wooden doors),to create an intimate atmosphere that draws you into the the magical world of Narnia. The story is told through song and dialogue, with the latter delivered with infectious gusto. The songs, penned by Claire McKenzie and Scott Gilmour, were performed most passionately by the cast: in particular the White Witch, Pauline Knowles, gave a fantastic performance.

Lucy is the first to find the famous wardrobe and soon after the easily-led Edward is quickly put under a spell by the evil white witch – the promise of Turkish Delight all that is needed to turn siblings against one another.  Of course no one believes Lucy and when Susan and Peter tell the professor the story of this magic land that Lucy claims to have visited, he does not seem surprised, which of course surprises them. Soon after in a game of hide and seek all the children enter the wardrobe which takes them to Lantern Waste and the scene of the iconic lamp-post. It is here they all meet Mr Tumnus and the humorous double act Mr and Mrs Beaver who are played brilliantly by John Kielty and Gail Watson.

The first half takes us up to the coming of spring and the “death of the age of winter”.  The curtain goes down to a huge round of applause and leaves me excited about the second half and the arrival of Aslan. The story unfolds up to the moment Aslan is killed dramatically by the white witch and her followers. In time the evil spell is broken and good overcomes evil, while the cast superbly perform fight scenes to the backdrop of fantastically dramatic music. The finale sees calm restored to Narnia and magical theatre brought to the enchanting venue that is The Lyceum. I watched the show with my 10 year old daughter and we agreed it was a great night out for all ages.

Script  
Stagecraft
Performance  

Review: Dolina Gorman