Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96The lion, The wiTCh and The wardrobe a review by adam price and grace Collett, year 7 On Wednesday 2nd December, Year 7 flocked together at the Birmingham Repertory theatre in Birmingham to see the theatrical adaptation of the classic, well-loved book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the second, yet the most famous of the Chronicles of Narnia series. Soon after arrival, we took our seats on the front row, and peered into the orchestra box, gazing at the innovative modern technology that has replaced the traditional instruments. Upon everybody quieting down, the curtains drew and the play begun. Immediately, we could see that this play was well-made. The background of a train in the opening scene pulled up to reveal a detailed interior, as the characters begun the story. The clothes were almost identical to that worn in the times the book was set, and the cast fitted inside their characters as if they were a hand in a glove. The adventurous Peter, the cowardly yet stubborn Edmund, the jovial, light-hearted Lucy and the benevolent Susan all appeared before us. The setting of the Professor’s mansion was extremely cleverly made, a flat screen almost like a cross-grid, with every detail in every room. At the early point when Lucy first entered Narnia, in an amazing way, the screen of the house became translucent, as if it were a membrane between this world and the spectacular realm of Narnia. We cast our eyes upon the perfect snow, and the expertly crafted trees. We soon found out after this that it was not only the humans that were well-dressed, as Mr Tumnus the satyr had a brilliant costume, horns and all, and mimicked very well the (as described) pleasant behaviour he should have (give or take a few amusing goat characteristics). When the mock animals appear, they are operated on a stick by people in black overalls. With imagination it would be as if the animal were on its own. (Though I must admit white would have blended in with the snow). The general puppetry in the play was immaculate, especially the Queen’s chariot driver, a stout, filthy troll where you very rarely saw the operator. The actor for the “Queen” made her a malicious, sly fox intent on destroying the four children, as told in the book. Later on in the story, we met Aslan the lion, true King of Narnia. He was probably life size, as he was an ingenious frame moved about by three people. Being controlled so well, we got the impression that he was a real, walking, talking lion! After a couple of songs, (slightly anti- climactic) fight scenes and well-performed acrobatic moves, the children were Kings and Queens of Narnia, the queen dead, and everybody happy. Hurrah! But wait. That’s not the end of the review. One thing we must devote this area to, is the collection of songs. Solos and group songs alike were heavenly, the words clear, the singing exceptional, and the story was conveyed beautifully. Every single song was absolutely fabulous, though I may put a slightly repetitive song about the confectionary treat Turkish Delight as the exception. Moving on now, the sets for the play were extremely well engineered, with a moving stone table that rose from the ground, a translucent mansion, showing the realm of Narnia through its misty walls, and of course, the frighteningly realistic train at the start. But there must always be negatives. In anything. In work, in school, even in your evening tea. For this, it to us was the fight scenes. It didn’t really matter, however, after a stunning acrobatics move by Peter. Also the obvious black overalls on the puppet operators. But drawing your attention aside, look at the many paragraphs of positives, and just a sentence or two of negatives. Nothing can be perfect. Not even this play (but it is extremely close.) All in all, aside from a minor nitpick, this play was spectacular, the book coming to life in front of your very eyes. In conclusion, this play was definitely a very enjoyable experience for Year 7, and it will hopefully be for the coming years. We truly and wholly recommend this play. 9.9/10 2015 To 2016 | 21