On November 3-5, Pride Productions produced The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, a play based off the book written by C.S Lewis. The play, in my eyes, was a big success.
The plot of the play follows four siblings: two brothers and two sisters, coming to an unknown land through a wardrobe. It turns out in this unknown land, called Narnia, has a prophecy about four children ending their current “leaders” reign.
Each of the actors portrayed their characters realistically, even those who played animals. Gray Sotir and John Wolfe, the wolf and the beaver, respectively, represented their characters very well–I was convinced they were animals by the way they walked and made their body movements.
All the actors stayed in character the whole time and were quite believable.The kids didn’t break out of their unnatural British accents, the beavers always stayed crouched and the witch kept the same, stuck-up posture.
I liked the little aspects of the play. I enjoyed all the Christmas trees and tree stumps in Narnia, and it made it seem like they were actually in a forest. The large array of animals portrayed throughout the play transported the audience to the fantastical moments. It showed how the story wasn’t just about the kids saving Aslan and defeating the witch for themselves, but it was about the kids being heroes and saving Narnia.
The last little enjoyable quirk is how the actors used the audience isles throughout the play. When Fenris Ulf sneaked down the isle to arrest Tumnus, it made the play seem like it wasn’t just on stage. I also liked during the crowing ceremony when all the animals and the children went out the back doors to simulate them going back on the journey to their castle.
The set was small, including the beaver house and “Tumnus Towers.” The designs and colors were suitable, but they seemed cramped as if there wasn’t enough room for the characters to walk about on them during the scene. Plus, the “wood-nymphs” were distracting on stage, compared to the “shadows,” in all blacks and masks.
A part that really stood out for me was the breaking of the stone table. The thunder and the lightning all built up to the table breaking was loud and dramatic. It was so exciting, and the scene leading up to it, which was full of thunder, lightning and shrills of Susan and Lucy, kept me very into the action.
Overall, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was a remarkable play, even with the little technical difficulties. I give it an A plus.
for a different opinion — https://www.themycenaean.org/2011/11/the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-reviewed/
Thank you for writing such a full and descriptive review! I was unable to attend the play and though I’m more disappointed now that I didn’t see it, at least I have a wonderful sense of what it was like! Beautifully written article.