Welcome to the lion's den

The Lion roars into Brisbane this month, after successful seasons in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Canberra.

Starring Amanda Muggleton and featuring Dennis Olsen, the stars of QTC’s We Were Dancing earlier this year, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (LWW) combines traditional theatrical elements with music and 40 life-size puppets (including several dwarfs and an eight-foot-high giant).

The show’s producers place a strong emphasis on creating high-quality productions suitable for families and ‘future theatre-goers’ (children). The creative team behind LWW have previously brought the classic, The Hobbit to life, and after hearing of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s version of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, they decided to mount their own version, featuring The Hobbit puppet designer, Phillip Millar to bring the story’s creatures to life.

For those unfamiliar with the story (or who have forgotten it since childhood), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was written by CS Lewis (Alice in Wonderland), and became a 20th century children’s classic. Lucy, escaping WWII London with her brothers, is sent to a kindly old professor and his remote country home. Playing hide and seek in the half empty house she finds a forgotten old wardrobe… and stepping in to hide, steps out into the magical world of Narnia – complete with dwarfs, fauns, giants and Aslan the Lion, the rightful ruler who has returned to overthrow the evil White Witch.

The stars of the show, despite the top billing for Muggleton and Olsen, are Phillip Millar’s puppets. A cross between a marionette and a football mascot, the puppets are operated by ‘an idiot’ (as the characters refer to their puppeteers) in a similar fashion to marionettes, except that they are literally built in to the front of the puppeteers costume, allowing them to walk, talk and gesticulate just as a human would, with similar size proportions.

The main mischief-makers, Mr Tumnus and the Dwarf will appeal to younger members of the audiences, after the initial shock of a forthright dwarf sticking his wart-riddled nose in their faces and barraging them with questions.

Director Nadia Tass has been true to CS Lewis’s wonderful tale, while the production includes a musical score complete with a new song for the Brisbane season, and special effects that rival any international theatrical production I’ve seen. While aimed at families, LWW certainly has plenty to offer for adults as well, including a constantly changing witty script, fantastical characters, plots laden with intrigue, and the pure magic of live performance.

Keeping their promise to providing high-quality theatre for families, LWW has prices to match, with special concessional family tickets available for most performances.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is only in town for two weeks before it heads to Sydney for a school-holiday season – so make sure you don’t miss out.

Belinda Yench