When CS Lewis published his book in 1950, he brilliantly juxtaposed the difficulty of being an evacuee, escaping war torn London, with the fantastical world of Narnia. It is therefore wholly appropriate that we ourselves escaped to a land far removed from the world of examinations and tests and revelled just for a moment in the realms of the fantastical.

At a time when our country faces an uncertain future, we might wonder if there is room for such fantasy. Yet embedded within CS Lewis’ text is the idea of the youth of tomorrow stepping up and guiding us to a fairer and more compassionate era, away from the wicked machinations of the witch and her fiendish cohorts. Who better therefore to perform this tale than school children and where better to perform it than in a school. 

Such an epic tale does of course pose its own problems. How does one create the power and majesty of Aslan? How do you create a talking beaver? How do you stage a full pitch battle in the Senior Hall and how do you build a very tall witch? The girls at Francis Holland have revelled in these challenges.

A huge thank you to the immense efforts of Matthew Rowlands-Roberts, Laura Sanderson, Hannah Davidson, Helen Vickery and Georgia Robinson who through their dedication and skill sourced the countless costumes and props and brought the songs and music from the original RSC production to life.The production will live long in all our memories.

As CS Lewis might say, “Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen of Narnia.”