The auditorium of the West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Quarry theatre has been transformed into the round for this new production, based on CS Lewis’s 1950 novel about four children evacuated, during the second world war, to a house in the country where a magical wardrobe provides a portal to the land of Narnia. Having the audience surround the stage highlights the Cirque du Soleil feel of the spectacular action.
This has been devised by the 21-strong company under the direction of Sally Cookson, as well as of movement director Dan Canham, puppetry director Craig Leo, and aerial director Gwen Hales, not to mention the two fight directors, Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown – a range of directorial specialisations that is put to full use.
Strikingly physical and visual (designed by Rae Smith, also responsible for War Horse), the adaptation delivers memorable images. A miniature steam train, carriage windows lit, seems to race through the night, thanks to the supporting arms of a chorus of children, newly evacuated from the city. The White Witch (spiky Carla Mendonça) is suspended in midair; white cloths that a moment before had suggested snow-covered ground stretching from the stage edges to her waist simultaneously skirt and landscape. Nightmarish Witch’s allies wearing headdresses tear the fur from the prostrate lion Aslan (Iain Johnstone, full of presence). All of these are accompanied by three musicians, playing Benji Bower’s almost continuous soundtrack.
Much here is impressive, but an overtight focus on effects dulls dramatic tension (as does, too often, the music, which becomes over-intrusive and effaces the words). While characterisations are clear, they are also simplistic and two-dimensional, a notable exception being the Witch’s witty minion, created by Amalia Vitale. Moments of genuine engagement are rare but precious (the arrival of spring’s first shoots, for instance); they show how less can mean more. As theatre, I found it disappointing overall, but as a winter extravaganza with pantomime-style audience participation, it does the trick - and so, four stars for its showmanship, but not for its storytelling.
