The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

The cast & crew of 'The Lion, The
Witch & The Wardrobe' 2018

“Utterly brilliant, spellbinding and wonderful.  I have a lump in my throat as I think about it ....” Celia F

“Great evening last night - your show is amazing!!! Well done and very pleased that the BCA supported this production.” Steven Mindel, Chairman of the Barnes Community Association

“Emma King-Farlow has mounted a truly magical production…” Mia Gibbons, Churches Together in Barnes

Edmund (Alice Hope Wilson) & Lucy
(Lucy Evans) in the Narnian snow

“This production was such a pleasure.  The fine story by C.S. Lewis was performed by a great team of actors, all of them perfectly in character. The Christian allegory worked gently but effectively in the beautiful mediaeval St Mary's Church, Barnes. Acting the part of Aslan, the lion King of Narnia, is inevitably impossible, but Will Forrester gave it drama and dignity.  The White Queen & her wolf were superbly malevolent & frightening!  The opening 40’s dance set the scene in wartime Britain, from where the evacuee children escape through the wardrobe to Narnia.  Costumes were inventive & the simple set was used imaginatively.  Many thanks to all. A special evening.” Anonymous audience Member

Maugrim (Carly Borrow) captures
 Edmund (Alice Hope Wilson) 

These were just a few of the many personal reviews that we received from audience members, following our recent(ish!) production of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe at St Mary’s Barnes (29^th Oct – 3^rd Nov 2018).  The show turned out to be rather more of a challenge than I first envisaged, and perhaps not quite as financially successful as it could have been if we hadn’t found ourselves up against the final of The Great British Bake Off early in the week!  It was, however, even more successful than I hoped in terms of the glowing feedback received and, it seems, the very different but similarly positive experiences enjoyed by cast, crew and audiences alike.  Indeed, the cast and crew - quite possibly the loveliest group of people I have had the privilege of working with - remain astonishingly close knit and in regular contact, and we are still hearing how much the audience thought of the show nearly three months after closing night!

Mr Tumnus Sr (Martin Parsley) watches
Maugrim terrorise small children!

None of this would have been possible without the financial and practical support of St Mary's Church and help from the Barnes Community Association, who recognised the potential of the project early on and awarded us a £500 grant to put towards the considerable costs involved.  I am extremely grateful to both organisations for their faith in the production, and to Bishop Richard Harries, whose fascinating pre-show talk on C.S. Lewis ensured that, despite adding as many extra chairs as we could, we still had to turn people away on the Friday night!

The White Witch (Kat Merrick)

Finally, I am delighted that the success of the production has enabled us to make donations not only to St Mary's but also to two fantastic children's literacy charities, both doing invaluable work with disadvantaged children around the country: BookTrust and First Story.
This wonderful play brought to an end a year of exhausting and exciting achievements for Shadow Road Productions and we now look forward to an equally exhilarating 2019!