If you ask anyone about their top childhood books, C S Lewis’s – The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe will often be cited as a nostalgic favourite across the generations. Garrick Theatre’s stage production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is full of nostalgia and one not to miss!
My 9-year-old son had recently finished reading the book and was excited to see this stage adaptation by Glyn Robbins. And I myself was curious how they were going to pull off the fantasy world of Narnia, especially since Garrick is such a small heritage theatre! Although they didn’t have high-tech equipment to work with, director Roxi Moore’s, with her simple yet effective directing choices, led to a very successful version of this fantasy world.
The cast, as would be expected, is a young bunch, with the youngest at 16 years old. I enjoyed watching the comradeship of the four children, and what was endearing to read was that two of the children were real-life siblings. Kody Fellows as Edmund was lively and suitably cheeky, and his real-life sister Mia Fellows, in her first lead role, played the timid Lucy, whose childlike innocence was portrayed accurately.
Amy Lock, as Susan, gave us all a fright with her piercing scream and played Lewis’ most unlikable character well. Aaron Wilkes, as Peter, had an impeccable British accent, and I would have loved to see the other actors follow suit to have a unified cast and really be able to get a sense of how quintessentially British this play and writing is.
The White Witch, played by Rebekah Hannah, was seemingly the most experienced of the cast. I enjoyed her strong sense of character and her unpredictability vocally, which always left the audience on edge and often scared!
Todd Halvorson, who played Aslan, had a great calm but strong presence as the Christ-like Aslan. At times, he could have projected his voice more, even if he was careful to keep the character calm.
A standout performance goes to Ali Louise, who played three characters: Mr Tumnus, Professor, and Mr Beaver. She was so invested in each character and had great physicality, vocal clarity, and obvious diversity.
The rest of the ensemble should also be commended on their input into the show, with some great characterisations as animals. I especially loved Russell Fellows’s physicality as the Dwarf.
My son and I really enjoyed this production, and it’s safe to say we both left with a smile on our faces and a spring in our step after an enjoyable night out!
Like a lot of community theatre here in Perth, the opening night was sold out, so if you want to see this brilliant production, book now
Bookings: Phone TAZ Tix 9255 3336 or BOOK ONLINE
Performance Dates:
November 28, 29, 30
December 1*, 5, 6, 7*, 7, 8*, 12, 13, 14
All evening shows at 7.30pm
*denotes matinee show at 2pm
Doors open 30 minutes prior to curtain
Tickets: Adult $28, Concession $23, Members $22, Children $15. Processing fees apply.
Please note that Saturday, December 7th, evening includes an Auslan interpreter. Auslan patrons will need to email TAZ Tix their booking request.
This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.
