The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

St. Stephen’s Church in Hampstead is a magnificent specimen of gothic Victoriana, returning to regular use after decades of neglect with a season of three shows from Antic Disposition, beginning with C.S. Lewis’ classic tale of adventure and spiritual awakening.

The youthful company throw themselves into the make-believe with zest, even if some seem a bit out of their depth with the singing, and others struggle to resist the allure of a little unseasonal pantomime. Ross Hugill pulls off a crowd-pleasing double, though his well-meaning, weak-willed Tumnus is more fully-fleshed than his snarly, leather-coated werewolf Maugrim. As Mr and Mrs Beaver, Chris David Storer and Nicola Delaney combine an endearing comic presence with some needful narrative authority. The grown-ups playing children work hard to avoid an excess of saccharine piety, and among much quick-changing and doubling there are a few lovely cameos, including Natalie Blenford and Vanessa Havell’s pair of timidly valiant squirrels.

If St. Stephen’s brooding presence left me longing for a rather more serious approach to the religious aspects of the story, there were moments which clearly showed the company coming to terms with the possibilities of their exquisitely atmospheric playing-space. Charismatic lion-king Obioma Ugoala benefits from a marvellous long entrance, as the back-wall of the stage opens to reveal the apse beyond, bathed in golden light. The grisly doings at the Stone Table become a real witches’ sabbath as the cast cavorts blasphemously among the long shadows of church architecture. And one small person near me responded to the revelation of Aslan’s return with a loud gasp of awe, as the primitive magic of a communal desire to believe started to catch hold of the audience.

So despite a few wobbles The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe bodes well for a productive conjunction of company and venue. As spring banishes winter, and virtue emerges triumphant, a warmly hymnal finale seemed a fitting conclusion to an evening of promising new beginnings.