In the years before the Harry Potter series, few books held more sway over children's imagination as C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.
The fantasy of stepping through a magical wardrobe into the enchanted world of Narnia has captivated generations of kids.
Squamish's Between Shifts Theatre is going all-in with its newest production, an adaptation of the first and most beloved of the Narnia books: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
The play is one of the most ambitious productions Between Shifts has mounted, featuring a cast of 20 (mostly kids) as well as about 30 working behind the scenes.
Like a lot of people, Amy Reid—who is co-directing the play with Kathy Daniels—says the Narnia books were a major part of her childhood.
She recalls sitting on a stone lion at her local art gallery, imagining it was Aslan, the mighty lion featured in the series.
"[The Chronicles of Narnia] just sparks that creative imagination when you read it, and that's what makes it so, so magical," she says. "I've had so many people come up to me and talk about what they remember about reading the books when they were a kid."
The crew at Between Shifts is in the final days of rehearsals and the play has plenty of moving parts (including a battle scene with more than a dozen people).
"And there's a lot of dance that's incorporated," says Reid. The set changes are carried out by "dancing wooden nymphs."
"So right now we are fine-tuning all of the big ensemble scenes with the help of Jen Carney, who is with The Performing Arts Centre," says Reid, who is also acting in the production, and adds it's likely the most involved show that Between Shifts has put on. The company purchased a brand new projector to add atmosphere to the play.
Between Shifts is benefiting from a wealth of behind-the-scenes talent to bring it home.
Katja Grilli, a professional wig maker who got her start in the German opera, spent "hundreds and hundreds of hours hand-building wigs and horns and all kinds of things to create the creatures that live in Narnia," says Reid.
"And then Janet Dundas, who does our costumes, has also probably donated hundreds of hours to hand sewing and [creating costumes]."
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was adapted specifically for Between Shifts by Squamish's Sara Marrocco.
She ended up taking on the job after the company struggled to find an adaptation that lined up with their vision of what the play should look and feel like.
When it comes to writing, Marrocco says she ended up taking a fairly straightforward approach to the storyline, saying that her initial, more minimalistic approach didn't quite work.
"The more I wrote, the more I realized I wanted to keep it quite traditional and quite similar to the original story, just to give it justice and to take everyone back to that world that they so dearly love," she explains.
Marrocco believes the story will hold special resonance for Sea to Sky audiences, that the connection that many feel to nature relates to the "childlike wonder of being outside and exploring a new land."
"There's always something to explore—and a lot of new flowers and trees and animals—and it's just a wonderland out there," says Marrocco of the corridor.
"I tried to encapsulate that into the story."
The play runs at the Eagle Eye Theatre from Nov. 28 to Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. with matinees on Nov. 30 and Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are available at betweenshiftstheatre.com or in person at Billies Flower House in Squamish.
