THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW
Where did the wardrobe come from?
Having had so much fun performing ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ a few Christmases ago, our drama enthusiasts have tackled another of C S Lewis’ Narnia classics, ‘The Magician’s Nephew’, Once again the kids and the adults worked together, using a mixed media approach, filming some of the London scenes and using Green Screen technology to make the horse fly!
The story of ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ was written by C S Lewis in response to many questions about the origins of Narnia and the end of the tale explains how the wardrobe in ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ gained its magical qualities. It acts as a lively prequel to the best loved of the Narnia stories and it also parallels the Genesis story from the Bible, showing creation and ‘the fall’ as sin enters the world.
Digory, a young boy had been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in London, as his mother is very ill. His uncle sends Digory’s friend Polly into ‘another place’ and tricks Digory into following after her with the magic rings that will bring her back. Digory succumbs to temptation in the other world and so introduces evil into Narnia on the day of its birth, in the form of Jadis, the White Witch, whom he awoke from an enchanted sleep. He must undo the wrong at Aslan’s bidding and, in the process, manages to procure the magic fruit to cure his mother (the seeds of which grow into the tree from which that famous wardrobe is made!)
We were very fortunate to have the help of a professional Cameraman and Director as we tackled our very complicated London street scene and as we couldn’t get the horse to the location at The Manchester Grammar School (where the Biology Department made a very convincing Victorian town house!) we had to film the horse bits separately and rely on the skills of our Editor, Sean, to make it appear as if it all happened in the same place!
A great deal of the responsibility for the play’s success depended on the lead characters of Polly and Digory, expertly played by Toby and Lottie, aged 12. The creatures of Narnia were 25 or so children mainly in year 4 and 5, so the children really did do the lion’s share of the work (if you’ll pardon the pun). It was a very exciting moment for us all when the hard work culminated in 3 wonderful performances.
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An audience with Graham Cole
Pictured is Graham Cole (left) being welcomed by Billy Montgomery, Minister of Hazel Grove Baptist Church.
Graham Cole, formerly PC Tony Stamp in The Bill, was welcomed recently at Hazel Grove Baptist Church. During the ‘sofa style’ interview he gave many fascinating insights into his role as Tony Stamp, including many of the thrills and spills of working on The Bill (for which he is best known) as well as his roles in Dr Who and Pantomimes up and down the country.
Having become regarded as the nation’s favourite copper, Graham said, “Both my fellow actors and I are working under increasing professional pressures to bring high quality entertainment to the TV screens. During all these times my Christian faith has supported me and been the bedrock of my life through ‘thick and thin’.”
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