We sent 12 year old Kayla Leigh Holdsworth to the West Yorkshire Playhouse to see their production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, based on the much-loved book by CS Lewis. Here’s her review:
I have to say I’ve been to many performances and by far this one has to be my favourite. The audience interaction and participation was great. The way they helped make a setting by getting the audience involved was amazing. At the start they were talking to us and helping us imagine that we were on in a train going to a new home.
The special effects were brilliant, they made such a difference to the performance. I loved how at different points they would change it to the mood. Like when it went into Narnia it would be white for snow then green for grass but when Aslan died it went red for blood and disappointment. I loved the purpose and reasoning for the trap doors as it gave the performance a realistic and natural perspective while being a unique and engaging effect.
I also loved how they used physical theatre throughout the performance to demonstrate the set and how they used it to identify characters like Maugrim the wolf and how it was so realistic.
The use of ribbon climbing was very effective as it was beautifully set out and added another layer of skill to the production. It was jaw dropping to say at the least. I enjoyed how the actors manipulated the animals and truly embodied them. There wasn’t one aspect of the performance I didn’t like.
Overall it was a great performance and would definitely go and see the talented production again as it gave me goose bumps and was very realistic. After the performance was sadly over, as it was press night, the cast and crew have gave us their time to have a chat.
My name is Kayla Leigh Holdsworth and I’m an actor of the age 12. I have done many productions as I used to go to Stagecoach but I also currently go to Cockburn School which is a performing arts school. My agent is The Drama Mob.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe runs at West Yorkshire Playhouse until Saturday 27 January 2018. Tickets cost £14-£50 and are selling very fast for the Christmas period. The production is suitable children aged 7 upwards.
This post was written by Kayla Leigh Holdsworth using our Create an article for South Leeds Life page.
