Imagination is the key. . .

ARMED with their imaginations, children will gasp, giggle and cheer at the Anvil Arts production of this classic tale.

Very much directed at young families and school children, The Haymarket’s Christmas show, adapted by Glyn Robbins, stays faithful to C S Lewis’ plot for The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, with Mr Tumnus, the White Witch, Mr and Mrs Beaver, Aslan and the four Pevensie children cloaked in fur coats.

For those uninitiated few – and the production does seem to rely on a prior knowledge of the story – the plot follows siblings Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter Pevensie who have been evacuated to a country house during World War Two. There they find a large, wooden wardrobe and the magical world of icy Narnia on the other side, where it is forever winter but never Christmas.

The production sees the return of director Richard Williams, who has directed the last two Haymarket Christmas shows – The Wizard of Oz and A Christmas Carol.

The first half of the play is particularly effective, with the suspense building up when first Lucy and then Edmund disappear into the wardrobe, but it is not until all four go through that the audience goes with them.

There were gasps of excitement as the door lifted up to reveal a snowy, white Narnia.

There is a lot of action to pack into about 90 minutes so the story moves at a pace, but for younger audiences this is perhaps no bad thing.

The standard of acting is good. The four “children” use their opening scenes before they enter Narnia to build their characters and show the audience their relationships with each other.

Michael Bryher adds a comic touch as Edmund and is particularly convincing as a cheeky “little horror”, talking back, playing tricks and telling lies.

Thomas Wilton is memorable as Mr Tumnus, despite his relatively small role, and Caroline Corrie, as the White Witch, is suitably mean and regal in a white gown and crown.

Aslan’s costume is not as lion-like as it could be, but the actor Howard Saddler makes up for this with his poised performance and slow, majestic speech, but it is Doron Davidson, as Maugrim the Wolf, who will make a lasting impression.

Tall with a white face, black lips and ferocious growl, I noticed a few flinches in the auditorium whenever the queen’s henchman entered, often accompanied by scary music.

The set, a little lean at times, is used creatively with translucent, white curtains helping to create a snowy Narnia and evoke a sense of mystery as they are swished around, aided by the lighting.

Hopefully recent big-screen treatments of Narnia have not raised children’s expectations above what is possible in a theatre, but the children with whom I shared the auditorium seemed to have no problems suspending their disbelief and using their healthy imaginations.