The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Sunderland Empire | 11th November 2025
Invited| Review by Stephen Stokoe
Of the many books I read when I was in short pants, C S Lewis’s fantasy land of Narnia was one I went back to time and time again as I revelled in Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy’s adventures into the land of eternal winter. There is also an element of seasonality to the story which lends itself well to this time of year as the days grow shorter in the run up to Christmas.
Television and big screen iterations of this delightful story have been a bit hit and miss so I was interested to see what the creative stage folk would do with it and I have to say I was not in the least disappointed. As the audience enters the auditorium they are greeted with a dimly lit stage with the only focal point a solitary character behind a piano. As the house lights dim, the crowd is left in no doubt as to the time frame of the piece as a beautifully harmonised rendition of ‘We’ll Meet Again’ rings out.
We are then introduced to the Pevensie children as they are evacuated from their family home to the country home of a very eccentric professor – played brilliantly by Kraig Thornber. The magic, starts long before we get to the mad professor’s home as the children must take a train to get there. This sequence is exquisitely choreographed (Shanelle ‘Tali’ Fergus) and really defies words. It is literally breath taking and the observer feels every bump on the line as the journey comes to its eventual conclusion. It must have taken hours of rehearsal time and director Michael Fentiman (based on the original production by Sally Cookson) has worked wonders to bring it to the stage.
The staging is also magnificent utilising the physical talents of the actor/musicians to represent trees and all manner of things in the magical land of Narnia. The ensemble cast work incredibly hard and, apart from the main children and a couple of others, they play multiple roles. The set (Tom Paris), lighting design (Jack Knowles) and music (Barnaby Race and Benji Bower) all add to the characterisation of the story. The folk-style of the music in particular evokes the other worldliness of Narnia with some wonderful dramatic stings to accentuate the fight scenes.
The children, the dependable Peter (Jesse Dunbar), the level headed Susan (Joanna Adaran) the irascible Edmund (Bunmi Osadolor) and the flighty dreamer Lucy (Kudzai Mangombe) all play their roles with integrity and heart and are supported by a terrific cast including the loveable but furtive Mr Tumnus (Alfie Richards) and the simply adorable pairing of Mrs and Mrs Beaver (Anya De Villiers and Ed Thorpe) who add a delightful jollity to the proceedings.
The hero or saviour, if you will, comes in the form of a majestic lion, Aslan. This was the only characterisation I was a little apprehensive about but I need to have been concerned as the magnificent creature graced the stage in the form of a, for want of a better word, puppet. As the beast was manoeuvred around the stage by wranglers (Andrew Davison, Mollie Francis and Rhodri Watkins) he was voiced by a fur coat clad personification (Stanton Wright) which worked particularly well. As the beast loomed, so did the characterisation. The separation of the bodily manifestation to allow his spirit to be thwarted, so she thinks, by the White Witch (Katy Stephens) was very effective.
I cannot leave this review without mentioning my star of the show. Like the goose in the recent National Theatre production of War Horse, Shrödinger the cat is just superb. Wrangled expertly by Andrew Davison, the cat’s character really shines from the stage and the audience is instantly taken with his mannerisms and frequent miaowing. All the costumes (Tom Paris) and puppets (Max Humphries) are amazing but the cat is something very special indeed.
This is a magical retelling of an all-time classic story and I have absolutely no worries in recommending it to anyone who wants to lose themselves in the battle against good and evil at The Sunderland Empire this November.