The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

From the story by C.S.Lewis

Dramatized by Joseph Robinette

Directed by Debbie Keyt, September 2005

We are very proud of the family shows we have brought to our audiences over the past four years, including 'Olivia', 'The Wizard of Oz', 'Bugsy Malone' and 'Smiley - the musical'. When we had to make a decision about which family show to stage in 2005, our selection panel read several plays involving children and unanimously decided it had to be the wonderful "The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe", a story we all remembered fondly from our childhood and which lends itself beautifully to the stage. We opened the wardrobe door and entered a new world! NARNIA….the land beyond the wardrobe... a secret place frozen in eternal winter…a magical country waiting to be set free.

Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the Professor's mysterious old house. Initially, her brothers and sister don't believe her when she tells of her visit to the land of Narnia, but soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe. There, they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch. When they meet the Great Lion Aslan, they realise they've been called to a great adventure and bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch's sinister spell.

We assembled a truly exceptional cast to bring this magical tale to life, only months before being brought to life on the big screen. Newcomers to the Beaumaris stage were Michael McManus as Aslan, Lesley Wardrop as The White Witch, Kristina Docouliagos as Lucy, Alex Bidstrup as Peter, Laura John as the Unicorn, Jarrad Greenfield as Centaur and Fred Pezzimenti as Tumnus. Actors familiar to Beaumaris regulars included Adrian Bowler as Edmund, Brigitte Wise as Susan, Robyn and Steve Morris as Mr and Mrs Beaver, Colin Buckley as Maugrim Fenris Ulf, Matthew Russ as The Dwarf, Mark Stewart as Father Christmas, Nicole Vaughan as The Elf, Lyn Laister as The White Stag and Richelle Ryan as Mrs McReady. They were supported by Anna Sotiropoulos, Byron Stephens, Lucy Bashfield, Ryan Buckley, Bronte Stephens, Joanne Vaughan, Janika Keyt, Justin Keyt, Nick Lever, Daisy Lewis-Toakley, Andrea Bashfield, Bernadette Kinsella, Katrina Lever and Rhonda Vaughan as the magical Aslan's Followers, Witch's Army and the hard working Nymphettes.

The show featured music written by the talented Danny Forward and choreography by Amy Anderson. As you can see from the photos below, our stage was transformed to the amazing winter wonderland of Narnia by the creative genius of Jennifer and David Bowler. Andrea Bashfield lead the backstage and tech crew of Vince Vaughan and Sam Trotter to complete the production !

"The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" certainly had something for everyone - the young and the young at heart. The magical adventure to Narnia and back was an amazing journey that we will long remember.