Review: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at The Lowry is a magical Christmas hit

Of course, as anyone who is familiar with Lewis’ popular tale, they emerge into Narnia where a world of adventure and peril await them.

A packed audience at the show’s second night at The Lowry was taken on this exhilarating thrill ride from wardrobe to perpetual winter with a young cast dazzling as the Pevensie siblings fighting the evil White Witch, the false Queen of Narnia, played with icy menace by Katy Stephens.

Lewis’ allegorical story of love and sacrifice is the perfect story for Christmas. It is also an epic production, boasting a huge cast of principal actors, puppeteers and dancers.

Making his professional stage debut is Bunmi Osadolor who lights up the stage as the headstrong Edmund, him of the Turkish Delight delight. Osadolor crackles with energy, notably in his sparrings with younger sister Lucy, the sweet-natured wardrobe debutant played by Kudzai Mangombe.

All of the four Pevensie ‘children’ are played by actors much older than their literary counterparts but all convince in their roles, with the quartet complemented by Jesse Dunbar as Peter, who pulls off some energetic swashbuckling, and Joanna Adaran as the sensible sibling Susan, eqaully adept with her bow and arrow.

Indeed, the fight scenes are choregraphed with balletic precision and aplomb.

No review of The Lion...can be written without mention of well, the fearsome feline in the title. Here we see Aslan the lion in a twin form – the magnificent puppet created by designer Max Humphries, and his human form played with suitable majesty by Stanton Wright.

Anyone who saw War Horse at The Lowry, and its magnificent thoroughbred, will be equally impressed by the puppetry of Aslan who strides around the stage as if he was the king of the jungle.

Classic English folk music meets cutting edge dance and moody lighting as the adventure unravels in a dizzying mix of visuals and music.

There is humour and menace aplenty, and indeed The Lowry’s guidance of this not being suitable for under six-year-olds is probably about right as there are some genuinely scary moments.

And despite the permanent winter, there is plenty of warmth, not least in the form of our traditional woodland animals Mr and Mrs Beaver (Ed Thorpe and Anya de Villiers. My one and only criticism is that the only costumes could have been a bit more recognisable, but this is a small quibble in an otherwise superb production.

Of course, we can’t omit mention of the lovable and heroic Mr Tumnus, played by Alfie Richards.

Directed by Michael Fentiman, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe runs at The Lowry until Sunday, January 11th.

Step into The Lowry and emerge into a world of winter and wonder. You won’t be disappointed, unless you’re a witch of course.