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Geist intern Leni Goggins nailed it in her review of Pacific Theatre’s stage adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: the show is magical, and the script is clever—using just two actors to portray all the characters of Narnia. (After the play, someone on the street said, “I can tell it wasn’t just written by some Vancouver shmo.”)
So who wrote the script? The play material only says “From the novel by C.S. Lewis.” Okay, yeah, but who cut and pasted the text and decided things like Peter should also be Mr. Beaver because he’s already wearing the brown fur coat (or maybe that he should wear the brown fur coat because he’ll be Mr. Beaver later)? Someone deserves credit for this creative adaptation! Or maybe being an adapter is another of those invisible arts professions, like being an editor or translator or whoever wrote the book God Hates Us All, which is, according to Amazon.ca, written by the fictitious Hank Moody (played by David Duchovny) from Showtime’s Californication.
The best and worst part of the play is the Turkish delight sold in the lobby. It’s delicious but the package crinkles loudly when you pull it out of your coat pocket in time to stuff it into your mouth as Peter stuffs it into his (and the white powder gets all over your black coat, too).
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe November 13, 2009–January 2, 2010 Directed by Kerry van der Griend | Starring Konna Lea Ford and Kyle Rideout Pacific Theatre 1440 West 12th Ave. Vancouver
P.S. Although the play is performed in a church basement, it feels less Jesus-y than the book and the BBC version.
