****
4 stars

WendyBird Productions present their version of C. S. Lewis’  ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and with a fairly large cast there is a lot going on at any one time.  It is difficult to represent on stage the whole book in such a short performance time but  WendyBird Productions  have managed this fairly well. I loved the rearrangement of scenes, getting the children from the world of men in to Narnia in almost real time before actually showing what occurred there to Lucy – Olivia Stephenson and Edmund – Andrew Mackley .  When Lucy, Edmund, Susan – Lucianna Neville and Peter – Ben Clarke all go in to the wardrobe we finally see what had previously happened to the younger children.

For me the additional dance scenes did not add anything to the story. It is a well produced piece occasionally marred by bad diction and poor projection, but I feel I am being ultra critical about a show which on the whole is fast paced with good performers who keep in character the whole way through.  The performance space strangely both added to and detracted from the production.  Several performances shone  but I do not want to single these out of something that is an interesting ensemble piece.

For lovers of C. S. Lewis and interesting theatrical pieces this is a show you should see.

Sheila