Children’s classic appeals to all ages
IT’S a children’s classic, but it’s not the easiest story to bring to life on stage.
When CS Lewis wrote a book about a family who discover a magical land by stepping through a wardrobe, his first thought probably wasn’t for some future theatre company.
But Ian Brown, who directs the production of The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe which comes to the Birmingham Rep this Christmas, thrives on such challenges.
“The first half of the first act goes back and forth from Narnia to the professor’s house,” he explains. “If you just went to Narnia once it would be really easy, but it makes the first half of the play a real design challenge.
“Fortunately Ruari Murchison, who has designed it, has done a lot here at the Rep, and he’s very good at finding a very simple and elegant solution to what seem massive problems.”
The solution involves two revolving stages and two sweeping staircases, and the actors have to get used to stepping on to the stage as it is all moving around them.
“It’s kind of a huge machine and it took a lot of inventing the first time, but now we know what the challenges are,” says Ian. “There’s one moment which took us about three hours to achieve at the technical rehearsal, where we use the staircase in quite a dynamic way. You get used to walking on to a set that’s moving, but it’s a scary thing when you first do it!”
The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe arrives in Birmingham after two successful seasons at Ian’s own West Yorkshire Playhouse.
He is bringing much of the same cast, including Brummie actor Louis Decosta Johnson as Aslan, Amy Brown as Lucy and Joseph Pitcher as Peter.
Ian’s enthusiasm for the Narnia books goes back to his memories of having them read to him as a child.
“I do think that in the first one in particular, it’s a very strong, imaginative world CS Lewis has created. Children love it because going to Narnia is like going into their adult life.
“It appeals to all age groups, adults as well as children. It’s a very exciting adventure and it translates very well to the stage. In fact, I think it translates to the stage better than it did to film, because there’s something quite theatrical about it.
“I think we created something we were very proud of and which has the ability to have a wide variety of people sitting there wide-eyed.”
Much has been said about the Christian theme of a story whose lion hero is killed and comes back to life, but Ian believes the play can still appeal to everyone.
“Even though Lewis was a very powerful exponent of Christianity, he doesn’t hammer that point, so the myth of the Lion coming back to life is able to exist as a mythical story without that overtone. Obviously you do identify very strongly with the Aslan character when he comes to life again. But lots of religions have the resurrection myth in them, so I don’t find it a particularly exclusive book.”
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