The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
By C S Lewis, Dramatised by Adrian Mitchell, Music composed by Shaun Davey
Birmingham Repertory Theatre until 17th January 2009

A Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company and West Yorkshire Playhouse production. Tuesday 2nd December 2008,

The annual Christmas time visit to Birmingham Rep has become a tradition for so many and this year is no exception. In fact, the theatre has already sold an enormous number of tickets for the production which is here until the 17th January 2009.
On a very cold night it was most welcoming to find on arrival a choir singing in the theatre foyer and this set the scene for what was to be an exciting and triumphant night. A full house of all ages was kept spellbound throughout the evening.
The production scored highly on both the staging and costumes which were amongst the best I have seen at the Rep. In particular the costumes for the very imposing White Witch and Aslan the Lion were superb. All the attendant creatures had such a clever combination of mannerisms, costume and facial makeup.
The 4 youngsters seemed perfectly cast as the fantasy travellers and displayed an amazement that was believable to the audience. A mixture of visual effects, 3 large round moving globes displaying all sorts of images, pyrotechnics and loud roars and things that caused you to jump out of your seat were all great fun.
It was easy to follow the story and the music and songs added to the overall enjoyment. The ensemble numbers were well choreographed and the arrival of the White Witch on her sleigh and the Shearing of the Royal Beast both brought the stage alive. It was also an exciting touch for the children in the audience when Aslan reappeared and went into the audience.
Moyo Omoniyi appeared regal, icy and menacing as the White Witch and her costumes and make up looked dazzling. She did however lose out on some of the impact at times as either her voice was not loud enough or dare I say, frightening enough. In every other respect she was excellent and received a wonderful round of applause when her character was dispatched!
Louis Decosta Johnson was a lively Aslan and in keeping with all the cast of this production had the most well observed mannerisms and expressions and proved a most popular character.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been a popular story for six decades and if you didn’t know anything about Narnia before seeing this production then it is a perfect introduction for the seven Chronicles all by C S Lewis.
My verdict, another success for the Rep, so book your tickets now, before they run out!

Clive Fuller