Theatre: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

Adrian Mitchell must be one of British theatre's least-recognised talents. Still known mainly for his freewheeling performance poetry, it is often forgotten that he wrote the verse translation for Peter Brook's legendary 1964 RSC production of Peter Weiss's Marat/Sade. He has also written a heap of stories, verse and plays specifically for children, including dramatisations of work by Hans Christian Andersen and Beatrix Potter. It is this affinity with the fantastical which the artistic director of the RSC, Adrian Noble, has harnessed to adapt The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a book responsible for generations of children spending inordinate amounts of time expectantly pushing through coat-racks. Designed by the award-winning Anthony Ward (whose recent credits include The Invention of Love and Oklahoma!), this lavish production has been mounted to coincide with the centenary of CS Lewis's birth and will definitely not be just for Christmas. It transfers to London in the Spring.

`The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' previews from Tues, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (01789 296623) to 27 Feb