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REVIEW: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday *****

Full steam ahead: The train journey scene in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York

IF you did not head over to Leeds Playhouse between November 18 and January 25 for the most spectacular show of the Yorkshire Christmas season, then you can still venture into Narnia via the wardrobe as Michael Fentiman’s breathtaking production has further magical life, like Aslan, on a long tour.

The narrow Grand Opera House stage is smaller than the Playhouse’s cavernous Quarry Theatre, but much of the grand scale has been retained, except for Katy Stephens’ White Witch no longer rising high above the auditorium in the climax to Act One.

It matters not a jot as that scene still carries its own frightening, shivering beauty amid the flurry of snowflakes in a show replete with magic and illusions by Chris Fisher and wondrous puppetry, designed by Max Humphries and directed by Toby Olie. The wow factor keeps on rising.

Marking the 75th anniversary of C S Lewis’s 1950 novel, and based on the original production by Sally Cookson, this show finds the perfect balance of storytelling and spectacle, delivered by a cast of actor-musicians who are as likely to switch instrument as character as they perform Barnaby Race and Benji Bower’s score rooted in English folk music suffused with the energy of Irish jigs.

Set and costume design by Tom Paris, working from Rae Smith’s original design, are complemented by Jack Knowles’s stellar lighting design and Tom Marshall’s sound design that fills the Grand Opera House auditorium like no other show.

Katy Stephens’ White Witch comes face to face with her nemesis Aslan in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. Picture: Ellie Kurttz

Pre-show, a pianist in military attire and pith helmet plays favourite tunes of the wartime era, setting the scene for an enchanted story where the Pevensie children will become caught up in a very different battle in Narnia.

Yet the costumes for the Narnian creatures will remind you of the other war the children have left behind: from goggles for Ed Thorpe’s Mr Beaver, to an airman’s flying jacket for Alfie Richards’ Mr Tumnus and a gas mask for Shane Antony-Whiteley’s lupine Maugrin, who moves and fights on all fours with the aid of crutches that propel him around the stage in leaps and bounds.

Typified by Antony-Whiteley’s Maugrin, Shanelle ‘Tali’ Fergus’s choreography is as much physical theatre as ensemble dance and graceful poise for Stephens’ White Witch,  all played out on a revolving set that facilitates going into the wardrobe and out the other side into frozen, faraway Narnia, with its signature lamp post atop a piano.

Seen through the eyes of the Pevensie children, evacuated to the avuncular Professor’s Scottish lair, Lewis’s torrid, allegorical tale is told with a sense of wonder as Lucy (Molly Francis, understudying for Kudzai Mangombe), Edmund (Bunmi Osadolor), Susan (Joanna Adaran) and Peter (Jesse Dunbar) “meet new friends, face dangerous foes and learn the lessons of courage, sacrifice and the power of love”. All four deliver terrific performances, with bags of humour and pathos, and room for mistakes and rivalries on a rapid learning curve of empowerment.

Set-pieces deliver time after time, from the journey north on a train, whose individual carriages light up to musical accompaniment as they are carried above heads as the steam hisses, to Aslan miraculously vanishing from his, spoiler alert, resting place. The stage floor lights up to denote the crackling of ice; the huge puppet of Aslan, steered by puppeteers, will rise to his haunches, as impressive as Joey, the horse in War Horse.

The Pevensie children in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe: Edmund (Bunmi Osadolor), Peter (Jesse Dunbar), Susan (Joanna Adaran) and Lucy (Kudzai Mangombe)

All life is here in Fentiman’s company, from Richards’ deceitful but devastated faun Mr Tumnus to Stanton Wright’s embodiment of Aslan’s noble demeanour (standing alongside the roaring puppet); Thorpe and Anya De Villiers’  bickering Mr and Mrs Beaver to Kraig Thornber’s triple bill of roles as the Professor, Father Christmas and Wise Owl. And yes, a comment is made that this is not the season for Christmas!

Stephens brings all her Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare’s Globe gravitas to the White Witch, putting the vile into evil that made you swear the Grand Opera House had suddenly turned colder on each entry.

Praise too for the work of fight director Jonathan Holby, musical director Ben Goddard and hair and make-up designer Susanna Peretz. If you see the show elsewhere,  that praise will extend to aerial director Gwen Hales.

In the words of director Michael Fentiman: “This production celebrates the magic of live theatre. It is a celebration of the possibilities of the collective imagination and the boundless wonders of individual skill.”

How right he is, and what a special, powerful. moving, beautiful production it is. Make sure to rush to the wardrobe: five-star theatre awaits.

The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee. Box office: atgtickets.com/york. Also Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, September 23 to 27, 7pm plus 2pm Wednesday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees (box office, 01274 432000 or) and Hull New Theatre, September 30 to October 4, 7pm and 2pm Thursday and Saturday matinees (box office, hulltheatres.co.uk). Age guidance: six upwards.

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Abbie Budden dives into the dangerous liaisons of Cruel Intentions in her debut tour at Grand Opera House from tonight

Abbie Budden as Annette Hargrove in Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith

ABBIE Budden is surrounded by an entirely new cast as she reprises her role of Annette Hargrove in the 2025 tour of Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, playing the Grand Opera House, York, from tonight to Saturday.

Last year, Abbie made her professional bow aged 20  in the London premiere of Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin and Roger Kumble’s New York musical, based on Kumble’s too-cool-for-school  1999 film.

“I’m the only returning cast member from that show at The Other Palace Theatre in Victoria, and it’s been really lovely to revisit it, bringing new elements to it,” says Abbie, who is working again with director Jonathan O’Boyle and choreographer Gary Lloyd.

“The London run flew by and I just didn’t feel I’d finished with it after those five months, so it’s been liberating to come back for three weeks of rehearsals before we opened at Windsor Theatre Royal last Thursday. “

Why was it ‘unfinished business’, Abbie? “It’s always on reflection that you think ‘there is so much more I could have done’, and I’m now finding so many new moments for Annette, bouncing off new members of the cast. 

“But I had an amazing time in London, and as last year was my professional debut, it felt so special to me, and I now come back to the show having had more experiences since then. I did Title Of Show, at Phoenix Arts Theatre and Southwark Playhouse, which was a very different show: a musical about two people writing a musical.

“It was a very meta piece of theatre with a cast of four, the writers and two friends, based on a real story. That was a lot of fun to do, as was playing Jill in my first pantomime  in Jack And The Beanstalk at Ipswich Regent Theatre, and now Cruel Intentions feels like a new challenge again.”

Inspired by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Cruel Intentions is rooted in a cruel bet where Kathryn Merteuil (Nic Myers) goads step-brother Sebastian Valmont (Will Callan) into attempting to seduce Annette Hargrove, the headmaster’s virtuous daughter at their exclusive Manhattan high school. 

Weaving a web of secrets and temptation, their crusade wreaks havoc but soon the co-conspirators become entangled in their own web of deception and unexpected romance with explosive results. 

Abbie Budden in her debut professional role as Annette Hargrove in last year’s London production of Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith

What a debut role and debut show for Abbie. “I didn’t train at drama college,” she reveals. “I jumped straight into the industry last year at the age of 20. Now I’m 21, and I feel they have really nurtured me. It was exciting but terrifying last year, but now I can be playful with the role with full confidence.

“Last year I learnt so much about myself, just how capable I am – and eight shows a week is tough for anyone.”

After landing such a role on the London stage when so young, Abbie found imposter syndrome kicking in. “But I think that is something that never goes away in this industry: that constant need to prove yourself,” she says. “It’s a feeling that you really have to try to switch off.  Be confident that you’re meant to be here. You just have to remind yourself that you were chosen for a reason.”

Although Abbie has not studied for a drama degree, “as soon as I could, I was wearing dancing shows, from the age of three, growing up in Horsham in West Sussex” she says. “I loved the drama department at my school, Tanbridge House School, and did sessions twice a week and lots of productions at Showdown Theatre Arts, where I found my passion for the arts.

“I did an exchange programme to Baltimore, going to New York too, and that felt like a step into performing that couldn’t have come at a better time before jumping into professional theatre last year.”

Abbie confesses that she had not seen the film until the audition. “The moment I watched it, I loved it. I remember gasping and squealing at how outrageous it was – and chaotic too! The plot really keeps you guessing and Roger Kumble’s script is so cutting. I instantly connected with Annette, knowing it was so right for me as a role,” she says

“Though it’s strongly a 1990s’ film – and placing it in Upper East Side, New York, makes it even more iconic – its themes are still almost painfully relevant.

“Our version plays it slightly different to the film, still taking inspiration from those iconic characters, but I’ve really found my own Annette, where she matches Sebastian at his game. There’s no time where she’s weak or is a victim of Sebastian.

“The Gwen Stefani song that Annette sings, Just A Girl, is telling the world that she yearns to be more than innocent, to be rebellious. She definitely does have a lot of control throughout, and doesn’t lose that; it’s her self-control that she struggles with, showing vulnerability with that.”

The show poster for Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, playing Grand Opera House, York, Leeds Grand Theatre and Hull New Theatre

As the show title indicates, Cruel Intentions is  packed with 1990s’ pop gold dust, from Stefani, Britney Spears, Boyz II Men and Christina Aguilera to TLC, R.E.M., Ace Of Base, Natalie Imbruglia and The Verve.

“I almost wish all the songs were in the film because they suit the story so well, and what separates this show from other jukebox musicals is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously,” says Abbie.

What is her favourite number? “Torn. The Natalie Imbruglia song. It’s an absolute banger. If I ever went out to a karaoke night, that would be my number one choice – and it’s a real turning point in the show, where she doesn’t know where she will go from there,” she says.

Abbie also sings Lovefool, the one from the swimming pool scene; Counting Crows’ Colorblind – “a gorgeous moment in the film that’s so honest and sincere on stage that you  really feel the audience go quiet” – and Foolish Games.

“That’s my big ‘belty’ solo in the show, where I do songs that give me lots of contrast, from ‘thrashy’ to beautiful, so Annette really gets to go on an emotional rollercoaster.”

What is the ultimate moral of Cruel Intentions, Abbie? “It’s weird because the characters are pretty devious and do some devious things, but because they’re teenagers and playing games, audiences fall in love with them,” she says.

“But the moral behind it is that there’s a dark side behind privilege, where they’re able to brush everything off with their wealth, which doesn’t just apply to the 1990s. A lot of people will connect with that thing of making questionable decisions as a teenager, but there’s a playful energy to the show as well darkness.”

On the road until the end of June, Abbie is visiting York for the first time this week. “I’ve never been there, so it’ll be lovely to see places on this tour that I’ve never been before,” she says. The further Yorkshire delights of Leeds and Hull await in May.  

Bill Kenwright Ltd presents Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm; tomorrow, 2.30pm and 7.30pm; Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Age guidance: 15 plus. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Also playing: Leeds Grand Theatre, May 6 to 10, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com; Hull New Theatre, May 13 to 17, 01482 300306 or hulltheatres.co.uk.

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How Yorkshireman Neil Hurst went from big Dave in The Fully Monty to even bigger Edna Turnblad in Hairspray The Musical

Katie Brice’s Tracy Turnblad and Neil Hurst’s Edna Turnblad in Hairspray The Musical, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, next week

YORKSHIREMAN Neil Hurst returns to York’s Grand Opera House all this week after his standout turn as big Dave in The Full Monty last October – and this time he has to wear a fat suit.

“I’m a big lad, but I’m not big enough for this role,” he says of the requirements to play agoraphobic laundry-business boss and mum Edna Turnblad in Hairspray The Musical, the part played by Divine in John Waters’ cult 1988 American film and later by John Travolta in the 2017 movie musical remake.

“I have to wear a fat suit as well as the false boobs to look the part. It’s all about finding the physicality of the character that’s important. But everything’s there on the page, to find the voice, the way she moves.”

More than 100 shows into the tour, Halifax-born Neil says: “My feet are killing me with the heels I have to  wear. I’m learning a lot about what it’s like to be a woman, but I’m having a ball. It’s such a joy to play Edna.

“Every now and then I slip into panto dame mode, but I do try to play Edna as a mum and a wife, finding the real woman in her rather being a big northern lad in a dress.”

How is the tour progressing since opening in July, with around 270 shows still to go? “I started getting RSI [Repetitive Strain Injury] in my right elbow because of all that flapping of my wrists, but now I think my muscles have got used to it,” says Neil.

“Having said that, as I stood by the fridge the other day, my wife said, ‘Why are you standing like that?’. I was standing with a hand on a boob, like Edna does!”

Quick refresher course: Hairspray The Musical is the story of heroine Tracy Turnblad, with her big beehive hair, big heart and big dreams to dance her way on to national television and into the heart of teen idol Link Larkin, supported all the way by mum Edna but hindered by villainous Velma Von Tussle (Strictly Come dancing’s Joanne Clifton).

When Tracy (Katie Brice/Scarborough actress Alexandra Emerson-Kirby in her professional debut) becomes a local star, she uses her newfound fame to fight for liberation, tolerance, and interracial unity in Baltimore, but can she succeed?

“It’s a massively popular show,” says Neil. “I was a big fan of the original film in the Eighties, and then the musical and the later film too. At the core of it, it’s a really good story, and if you get the story right, you can’t go wrong. It’s got a good message, it’s politically apt, saying you should love people for who they are, not what they look like.

“Also, every few minutes, there’s a banging number, ending with You Can’t Stop The Beat. The music is great, the script is brilliant, and then we have Joanne Clifton, who’s wonderful  as the baddie character, Velma Von Tussle.

“We get on like a house on fire. We love to do a jigsaw puzzle at every venue, and we’re like these two old fuddy-duddies with all the others being about 20 years old!”

Neil will be taking a winter break before resuming the tour until April, but not for a rest. Instead, this award-winning pantomime performer will be returning to Hull New Theatre for Goldilocks And The Three Bears.

“This time I’m playing Joey the Clown, who’s in love with Goldilocks. I’ve got to try to woo her affection by being the biggest and best act in the circus,” he says. “This will be my fifth Hull  pantomime, I love doing the panto there, and this one is very different.

“We’re bringing Hairspray to Hull New Theatre in a few weeks’ time, in the middle of November, but annoyingly I start panto rehearsals the week after, when we’ll be in Bradford that week, so I’ll be be going over in the day to do rehearsals and performing Hairspray at night.”

Hairspray The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, October 28 to November 2, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Did you know?

NORTHERN actor, presenter, writer, podcaster, husband and dad Neil Hurst began his career as a song-and-dance act, touring the country in comedy and variety shows and supporting comedy legends such as Bruce Forsyth, Bob Monkhouse, Jimmy Tarbuck, Ken Dodd and Cannon and Ball.

Neil Hurst’s television credits include two series in a recurring live improvisation role on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show on BBC One, working alongside McIntyre to set up his Unexpected Star of the Show.

Did you know too?

NEIL’S television credits include two series in a recurring live improvisation role on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show on BBC One, working alongside McIntyre to set up his Unexpected Star of the Show.

He hosted his own USA television pilot for Food Network, Hopping The Pond, wherein he travelled the United States, eating local dishes, drinking local brews and learning all about small-town America from the locals.

One more thing..

NEIL wrote the pantomime scripts for Beauty And The Beast at CAST Doncaster and Cinderella for Towngate Theatre, Basildon. In his writing partnership with actress Jodie Prenger, together they have scripted A Very Very Bad Cinderella, The Government Inspector and Cinderella, A Socially Distanced Ball for London theatres The Other Palace, MTFest UK and Turbine Theatre.