Photo Flash: Inside Rehearsal For THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE at the Bridge Theatre

Based on the novel by C. S. Lewis and directed by Sally Cookson, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will have its first performance at the Bridge Theatre on 9 November 2019. Today (16 October 2019) rehearsal images are released on the 69th anniversary of the publication of the novel. Opening night is on 18 November and the production runs until 2 February 2020. Full details of the performance schedule, including Sunday matinees, are available on the Bridge website.

The cast features Femi Akinfolarin as Peter, Omari Bernard as Maugrim, Laura Elphinstone as the White Witch/Mrs Macready, Shalisa James-Davis as Susan, Wil Johnson as Aslan/Professor Kirk, Keziah Joseph as Lucy, John Leader as Edmund, Stuart Neal as Mr Tumnus, Dean Nolan as Mr Beaver and Beverly Rudd as Mrs Beaver. They are joined by Emily Benjamin, Amber Cayasso, Sebastian Charles, Andro Copperthwaite, Nicky Cross, David Emmings, Nathan Louis Fernand, Linford Johnson, Mitch Leow, Mei Mac, James McHugh, Helen Parke, Tinovimbanashe Sibanda and Millicent Wong and musicians James Gow, Tim Dalling, Harry Miller and Pat Moran.

Step through the wardrobe this Winter into the magical kingdom of Narnia for the most mystical of adventures in a faraway land. Join Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter as they wave goodbye to wartime Britain and say hello to a talking Faun, an unforgettable Lion and the coldest, cruellest White Witch.

This critically acclaimed production reunites director Sally Cookson with designer Rae Smith, writer in the room Adam Peck, movement director Dan Canham, lighting designer Bruno Poet, sound designer Ian Dickinson, with music by Benji Bower and casting by Jill Green all of whom originally brought the show to life in 2017 breaking box office records at Leeds Playhouse.

Written by C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first book published in The Chronicles of Narnia in 1950 and went on to become one of the most popular children's books of all time; still regularly topping reader votes on the best books nearly 70 years later, including last month being voted the UK's favourite book. The Chronicles of Narnia - The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle - are classics of children's literature, having enchanted generations of young readers, with over 100 million copies sold worldwide in over 70 countries and 59 different languages. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Chronicles of Narnia are published by HarperCollins Children's Books.

The London Theatre Company by special arrangement with Elliott & Harper Productions and Catherine Schreiber, presents the much-celebrated Leeds Playhouse production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan