The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Birmingham Rep

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Tue 14 Nov 2023 - Sun 28 Jan 2024

C S Lewis’ classic The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is no easy story to stage. With other lands hidden through the wardrobe, evil witches, sacrifice and all manner of strange creatures, it calls on the production team to pull out all the stops.

This production manages to not only create these other worlds and characters, it also ensures the audience remains rapt in a world of magical theatre.

In the tale, the four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, discover the land of Narnia through the wardrobe and there they have to fight evil – but also conquer the demons within themselves.



That evil is personified in the White Witch who has turned the land of Narnia into a frozen wasteland where the creatures live in fear of her wrath. Cath Whitefield’s White Witch is both mighty in her evil but also spiteful when angry. She literally towers over the stage at one point as she is lifted above the action and yet she can also be diminished by the good in others.

The adult cast gives solid and believable performances as the Pevensie children. Kudzai Mangombe is the curious and caring Lucy who first discovers the secret land. Jerome Scott’s Edmund is initially sullen and sulky before being tricked by the White Witch and finally redeemed. Daniel Apea’s Peter is the eldest son who attempts to lay down the law but, in doing so, sparks Edmund’s resentment. And Liyah Summers is the sensible Susan who tries to keep the children together no matter what.

The production makes great use of puppetry particularly in creating the Aslan character which is portrayed by both actor Oliver Hoare and a three-person lion puppet. Hoare brings gravitas and majesty to the role, laying his life down with dignity and leading the children to discover their better selves. The interplay of puppet and man helps tell the story as the puppet leaves the stage as Aslan dies but returns when he is resurrected.

There are some lively depictions of other much-loved characters including Jez Unwin’s conscience-stricken fawn Mr Tumnus and an enthusiastic Mr Beaver played by Samuel Morgan-Grahame with plenty of humour.

Directed by Michael Fentiman and designed by Tom Paris with puppetry designed by Max Humphries, it is really the production that takes centre stage here with some wonderfully imaginative uses of the theatre space. The children travel into war-time evacuation on a miniature but ever-moving steam train, they pass through a gateway symbolized by the mystical wardrobe and Aslan is killed surrounded by a host of ghoulish creatures.



The lighting, designed by Jack Knowles, adds another dimension to the production with the action encased within a giant halo of light and large pink illuminated Turkish Delight dancing across the stage. The songs composed by Benji Bower and Barnaby Race bring plenty of life to the story and give the various actor-musicians the chance to showcase their talents on a range of musical instruments.

First staged in 2017, the production has played the West End before coming to Birmingham Rep for the Christmas season so it has had plenty of time for any rough edges to be smoothed out.
There is though some inconsistency in the pacing. The first half gives us plenty of time to get to know the characters and their quirks but after the interval the story picks up speed and hurtles towards the conclusion without enough time to fully develop relationships. So we no sooner meet Aslan than he is laid out under the knife and in moments he is back. Presumably this is to ensure the show is kept to a family-friendly two hours but the story would benefit from just an additional few minutes to build those relationships and tensions.

That said, this is a hugely imaginative and enjoyable stage show, reviving the classic children’s story for a 21st century audience.

At Birmingham Rep until 28 January, see here for more information and tickets.

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