THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. To 5 February.
Leeds
THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
by C S Lewis dramatised by Adrian Mitchell Music by Shaun Davey.
West Yorkshire Playhouse (Quarry Theatre) To 2 February 2008.
Revival of the 2004/5 production.
Tue-Sat 7pm Mat Thu-Sat 1.30pm, and Sun 1.30pm
no performance 1 Jan.
Audio-described 3 Jan 1.30pm, 25 Jan 7pm.
BSL Signed 12 Jan 1.30pm.
Captioned 10 Jan 7pm, 26 Jan 1.30pm.
West Yorkshire Playhouse (Quarry Theatre) To 5 February 2005
Mon-Tue-Sun various dates 1.30pm 2pm 7pm also 1.30pm & 7pm 27 Dec, 10am & 2pm 31 Dec no performance 2, 4 Jan
Audio-described 6 Jan 1.30pm 15 Jan 2pm 25 Jan 7pm
BSL Signed 22 Jan 2pm
Captioned 28 Jan 7pm 29 Jan 2pm
Runs 2hr 35min One interval
TICKETS: 0113 213 7700
www.wyp.org.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 18 December
Another brilliantly thrilling Christmas show in the Quarry.
Last year it was the National Theatre's Alan Bennett version of Wind in the Willows. This year, West Yorkshire Playhouse director Ian Brown has taken Adrian Mitchell's adaptation of C.S. Lewis and, good as was the Royal Shakespeare Company's premiere, I'm not sure this production doesn't ultimately outclass it.
A thrilling opening recreates the pandemonium of Second World War evacuation through projections of wartime scenes from aeroplane formations to dugout shelters, briskly leading to the professorial home where Russell Dixon, at his most cheerily benign, welcomes the four children who are to have the first Narnia adventure.
Ruari Murchison's design tracks the story with bold visual flair. Two huge staircases revolve in opposite directions, intersecting to provide a continuous pathway, or separating, leaving a large space for action. Huge ice-white vestments suggesting simultaneously the professorial wardrobe and the winter kingdom of the White Witch's Narnia form a curtain (adeptly concealing the giant wardrobe's shiftings) whenever the children are about to move between their evacuation home and their other new-found land.
Like Mitchell's adaptation, the production catches the spirit and period of the action without becoming cloying. In particular, the quartet of children convince, from excited arrivals at the country house to leading figures in Narnia's restored summer.
Richard Frame's Edmund has from the start a truculent separateness in his manner and appearance, making his treachery convincing without turning him into an all-out villain. It's offset by Ian Conningham's judiciously low-key Tumnus. As the first Narnia creature met he has an apt human sympathy, sharpening the pity of his imprisonment following Edmund's admissions to the White Queen.
Supremely, though, it's Claire Redliffe's Lucy, Lewis's clear heroine, who stands out in the action, her brightness and trusting energy making for a confident, warm performance. Ellen O'Grady's snarling Witch and Michael Skyers' clear, bold Lion-Christ Aslan are on a suitable scale. But, supported by Shaun Davey's bold score, the other hero of the production is clearly Brown. A proven director of high-style new plays, here he shows similar expertise on a bravura scale, culminating in final scenes both thrillingly heroic and touchingly human.
2007/8 Cast.
Peter: Dominic Charles-Rouse. Joseph Pitcher.
Susan: Louisa McCarthy. Laura Pitt-Pulford.
Edmund: Richard Frame. Stefan Butler.
Lucy: Claire Redcliffe. Amy Brown.
Professor Kirk/Father Christmas: Russell Dixon. Neil Salvage.
Mrs Macready/Mrs Beaver: Lisa Howard. Karen Mann.
Ivy/Dryad/Wolf: Serena Giacomini. n/a.
Betty/Naiad/Wraith: Kate Coysten. n/a.
ARP Warden/Eagle/Efreet: Ian Hallard. n/a.
Porter/Leopard/Cruel: John Hicks n/a.
Mr Tumnus: Ian Conningham. Danny Seldon.
Mr Beaver: David Streames. Howard Coggins.
Aslan: Michael Skyers. Louis Decosta Johnson.
Rumblebuffin/Maugrim: Sebastien Torkia. David McGranahan.
Lion/Minotaur: Mark Hedges. n/a.
White Witch: Ellen O'Grady. Clare Foster.
Grumpskin: Delroy Atkinson. Ben Sewell.
Ensemble: Rebecca FAulkenberry, Darren J Fawthrop, Kerry
Whiteside, Owen Young.
Director: Ian Brown.
Designer: Ruari Murchison.
Lighting: Malcolm Rippeth. Guy Hoare.
Sound/Video: Mic Pool.
Musical Director: Mary McAdam. Jonathan Gill.
Costume: Stephen Snell.
Fight consultant: Renny Krupinski. Kate Waters.
Assistant director: Sarah Punchon. Kathryn Ind.
Associate director: Faroque Khan
2004-12-27 18:40:28