Venue 209 @ 25 Nicholson Square

18.30-19.55

Run:  Aug 5-13, 15, 22-27

If you’re after a factual and rather touching literary hour, this show’s for you. An Evening with CS Lewis gives you a real look at who the man was, and what inspired him and his writings. The set is minimal – a chair, a table and a cup of tea; but all that’s required by the star and creator of the show; David Payne.  Payne has been playing C.S Lewis since he accidentally won the lead role playing the author back in 1996 in a production of Shadowlands. Perhaps it was all meant to be, seeing as he does such a terrific job.  I loved the way he deftly manages the sensitive one-man relationship between actor and audience- there is an impressive versatility which inhabits the lines with a familiarity that in turn puts us, the audience, at ease.

Payne, himself a widower, tells the romantic story of Lewis and his wife with a tenderness and sadness that cannot be faked. Humour, character descriptions and historical context abound in this disarmingly-delivered 55 minutes. I laughed, I learnt; I even shed some tears. Highly recommended as a preprandial injection of easy educative culture, about one of the world’s best writers.

Reviewer : Monica Sutcliffe