Step inside the wardrobe for a magical night

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Abbey Theatre, Nuneaton until November 11.

The classic C S Lewis story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe presented by the Masqueraders Theatrical Society turned out to be quite a clever production, with some ingenious special effects and props. This was the society’s 55th production and some of the main roles were shared by the young actors and actresses over the five nights.

The story tells of the Pevensie children – Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter who are evacuated to a large country house to escape the London bombings in WW2.

It’s there that they discover a wardrobe which transports them to a magical world known as Narnia. The land is under the rule of the White Witch and is forever locked in the depths of winter.

The children discover that it is their destiny to free the land under the guidance of a mystical lion called Aslam.

Considering that much of this play was centred around the four young actors, Lucy (Hannah Daffern/Caitlin Yates), Edmund (Jospeh Langley/Daniel Gentles), Susan (Georgie Wing/Rhianna Morris) and Peter (Ben Day), they did extremely well in entertaining an audience that was predominantly adults.

Caitlin Yates played the main role of Lucy on the evening I attended, and what an excellent little performer she was.

There were a lot of lines to be learned and delivered, and she did so faultlessly. All the cast put their hearts and souls into their performances, but special praise has to go to Kyle Johnson who played Tummus the faun, the White Witch (Katy Lloyd) and her ‘sidekick’ Grumpskin played brilliantly by Erin Broadhurst. Erin really made this role her own and was very funny throughout.

The team behind the technical side of things did a really good job with the special effects and projected imagery which magically changed the scenes numerous times from the snowy white world of Narnia, to the country house with its magical wardrobe, and other sets – all very smoothly undertaken.

Not to be forgotten is the lion, Aslam. A really clever creation involving some dramatic moments.

Tickets available from: https://www.abbeytheatre.co.uk/plan-your-visit/box-office/

Telephone: 07539 508 122