The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

In April 2016, Centre Stage took a journey through the wardrobe and beyond as it staged its largest and most ambitious production to date – an adaption of C.S. Lewis’ children’s classic ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ at Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts.

The school secured the rights from the C.S. Lewis estate to stage the show and it was a magical and spectacular interpretation of this timeless adventure that which included all 400 students, aged 4 – 18, from the school and feature music, dance and drama.

Watch the fantastic promo clip featuring excerpts from “The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”  here  we think it perfectly captures the magic of the show and the incredible performances of our dedicated and passionate students

Visit our wonderful ‘Behind The Scenes’ video for “The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe” here

Following the huge success of our previous two productions – Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan – we wanted to raise the bar even further and put on a bigger and more lavish production, that reflected the ambition, professionalism and talent of everyone at Centre Stage.

Putting on the show at Lighthouse, the largest regional arts centre in the UK, not only allowed us a bigger stage to showcase what we do but also gave us the opportunity to invite a wider audience to enjoy this wonderful family production. I think everyone agreed it was an inventive and highly theatrical production, with lots of surprises.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, has been one of the most popular children’s books since it was first published in 1950. Centre Stage’s production faithfully recreated the tale of Aslan the great lion, his struggle with the White Witch, and the adventures of four siblings who wander into an old wardrobe that yields a passageway into the mysterious realm of Narnia.

“Our talented cast of performers, aged between 2-19 years of age dedicated many long hours to mastering their performance to bring this story to life on stage. The level of energy and passion was infectious for all involved. Striving for perfection at all times, this cast of children and young adults are a testament to themselves and, as Principal, I am proud beyond words of their talent and achievement.” Zoe 

Here’s what parents had to say about “The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”:

I am completely blow away by how amazing this weekend has been and am grateful you let me help backstage. Watching what happens and seeing how much goes into a performance like this was very eye opening. I loved every minute. Thank you for all you and your team do for Amber-Louise. I was crying tears of joy when I watched her perform. I look forward to her being a part of your family for a long time to come.
From only ever seeing church hall performances to seeing this has blown me away. I felt like I was watching a London performance! The story was told brilliantly and how you let everyone have their parts and shine is fabulous.  You really show off all your students and no one gets left out.
What also really blew me away is how you all get on so well. You really are like one huge family. The kindness each of your student show to each other and everyone around them is a joy. You are all so loving helpful and caring.
Thank you for a great weekend. Thank you for all you do and for welcoming Amber-Louise and I into your world.
Cassie Williams

My daughter Bertie has just taken part in Centre Stages ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ at the Lighthouse. It is hard to put into words how good the production actually was – I had been told by other mothers who had past experience in other shows to expect a great production but I can honestly say it exceeded all expectations in every way. I still cannot believe how well it all came together bearing in mind the number of classes there are and number of students. Totally amazing and very emotional. I don’t think there would have been one person in the audience who didn’t LOVE it. An elderly relative of mine came with the aim of leaving at the interval but when her lift came to pick her up she sent them on their way as she did not want to miss the second half!!
Bertie certainly had the time of her life – such an experience for a young girl to get the chance to be on a big stage.
Georgina Bryson

Zoe and team, I’m absolutely blown away by the incredible effort that it took to put on the show. The children were just amazing and rose to the challenge of a professional production in a professional venue. The attention to detail and nuance was superb and the sheer dedication of your team was palpable.
The show managers were fabulous, too, and we are extremely grateful for them, caring protecting and safeguarding our babies!
We are very blessed to be part of such a fantastic
community. We greatly appreciate all of the time, drive and determination you put into this. An enormous heart felt ‘thank you’ to you and to the whole team!
M.DeN 

I just wanted to say what an amazing show, ‘The Lion The Witch and The
Wardrobe’ was.
Mum and I had tears in our eyes when we saw Alana on stage in her
costumes on Saturday night and we are all very proud of her. The whole
cast were amazing and you did such a great job!
Alana loved every minute of it and asked me when the next one would be
Sara Courage

Thank you so much for enabling Hannah to live her dream on stage. My family and I thought the production was wonderful, theatrical and sweet. All the children performed to such high standards. Thank you so much.
Karina (Mother of Mr Beaver!)

A massive congratulations to you and the team for a simply outstanding show. I had no idea what to expect but it was way beyond my expectations, so creative and professional! It was amazing and I was so proud that Jess cold be part of it … she loved it!
Kate Hay

Massive well done to you all for putting on such a beautiful show. We thought it was visually beautiful, the music was amazing and of course the singing and dancing was just lovely. And while helping out backstage, the kids were all so well behaved and so committed to getting the show right – they’re real little professionals! Well done to you all & thank you!
Jane Matthews

Thank you for giving Abi such a fantastic opportunity. She loved every minute and would do it all again today in a heartbeat .
Kristie Higham

Just wanted to say Thank you to you and your entire team for the
wonderful show; The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Sumona enjoyed
being a part of it and we thoroughly enjoyed watching it.
Sangeeta Dasgupta

Thank you again for an amazing show. I forgot my tissues and couldn’t stop tears of happiness. This show proves how amazing a teacher you are. Thank you. Joanna Arif Zoe, and everyone at Centre Stage. Wow what a show you put on this weekend! Congratulations on another fantastic performance – absolutely brilliant. Well done to everyone.
John Spencer

I can’t even articulate my feelings about the show. It was beyond amazing. I was so nervous to watch – knowing just how hard it was getting everything ready backstage.
What an amazing achievement. I hope you are showered with praise and new recruits, as you should be after that.
I can honestly say, I have seen professional productions which didn’t even come close to the quality of this show.
Eve loved EVERY SINGLE MOMENT. Thank you for such an incredible opportunity for Eve and all of the kids. How you do it, I have no idea, but you and the team are magicians.
I know it has been a long and very stressful journey, but I really hope you feel it has all been worthwhile. Please pass on a huge congratulations and Thank You from me to all of the Centre Stage team. 
Marina Tucker

I remember our conversations back at Park School when you told me about your ambitions and about all the qualifications you had taken and were still working on.
I think its exceptionally rare to find a person who achieves those levels of ambition, so quickly AND remains a kind, thoughtful unselfish human being.
You are the personification of extraordinary. I’m proud to know you and Gracie is privileged to be part of your dream.
Diana Parkes

Can I say congratulations for a fantastic show, myself and multiple family members all loved it. When one goes to see a show full of children I don’t think anyone realised how superb, professional and entertaining it was going to be so well done to all!
Simon Brignell

Many many congratulations to you and your amazing team for pulling off such a spectacular, professional and inspiring show this weekend. Poppy came home buzzing after each performance. I really enjoyed being a matron and it gave me a new appreciation of what goes on behind the scenes – as an audience member you don’t see the intensity of the organisation, costume changes, etc etc. I watched the show on Saturday night and found myself filled with emotion for most of the show – a big well done.
Rachel Bleazard

I just wanted to say a big thank you for giving Emi the opportunity to perform in the show, she absolutely loved it!!  We came along yesterday and it was fabulous and so great to see them all enjoying performing so much. 
Amanda Norman

I just wanted to write to you to say thank you to you and all the staff for such an amazing show at the weekend.  I was so impressed by the effort clearly put in by everyone involved.  We really enjoyed watching it and Joss absolutely loved being in it.
Julia Clemo

I am sure you are being inundated with emails from parents wanting to sign their children up to more classes following the massive success of the show at the weekend! It was absolutely brilliant! Milly is completely inspired. I was just so impressed with how you managed to give all the children a chance to shine and have their moment… Many thanks
Becky Harvey

Just wanted to say a big thank you for all the work you put into the show, I don’t know how you did it, so much to think about! It was an amazing show. It’s truly amazing what you have achieved…….you must be beaming!  Amber was delighted to be a Christmas Reindeer so thank you for giving her that opportunity too. 
Charlotte Hickson

I wanted to give a huge thankyou and congratulations for the most amazing show last weekend. It was incredibly impressive and a great achievement, both by yourself and by the students. The amount of work that everyone put in was more than apparent; the costumes, the acting and the dancing were all on point. The voices were incredible; a huge testament to Ms Lauren’s hard work.  Again, well done Zoe – what a star you are.
Lisa Maynard

I just wanted to congratulate you on an amazing show! Rosie was on an absolute high afterwards and I was amazed how well she did. Whenever her pre school have little nativity or something she freezes up so I was so happy and relieved to see her performing her little heart out!! She’s only just turned 4 and already it’s given her lots of confidence. I welled up seeing her cuddling you in the video part and so did my husband! Thanks again we all got so much out of it, you’re doing a wonderful job.
Charlene Bond

I hope you are well and still high on the buzz from the show. It truly was a wonderful show. You and your team did a fantastic job! I know Roya only had a small part but from being a bit scared to go on stage to go on for her dance was a big achievement for her. Thank you for helping her do that.
Goli Hussain