CS Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe tells the terrific tale of four siblings who travel through a wardrobe, find themselves in a magical land, and meet Aslan the Lion and the White Witch, the latter of whom is plotting their downfall. A smash-hit stage version of the much-loved children’s story is returning to the Midlands to mark the 75th anniversary of the book’s publication, this month playing Birmingham before heading to the Potteries in June and Wolverhampton in October.

What’s On spoke to Katy Stephens - who will be plotting evil as the icy, ruthless and shockingly wicked White Witch - to find out more…

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of CS Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, in which Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie travel through a wardrobe to the magical land of Narnia.

The acclaimed 2017 stage version, directed by Mike Fentiman in its newest incarnation, has embarked on a national tour. It’s a show packed with puppetry, music and spectacle.

“I think what’s really special about this production,” says Katy Stephens, who plays the White Witch, “is that it captures the heart and soul of what CS Lewis was writing about. I really feel it captures the core of The Chronicles Of Narnia. It’s a very beautiful, spectacular show, and there’s a huge amount of talent on stage. We have actor-musicians, who pick up all kinds of instruments, put them down and pick up another instrument to play… We’ve got the most incredible ensemble of dancers; really talented dancers who can also act. The music is absolutely beautiful, and Mike Fentiman has done a fantastic job of lifting this beautiful book off the page and making it palpable for a live audience.”

The White Witch famously freezes Narnia, making it always winter (but never Christmas), and tempts Edmund Pevensie to the dark side with enchanted Turkish Delight. While The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe is the most well known of CS Lewis’ books, Katy has discovered more about her character in a different story.

“You don’t find out a huge amount about her in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe - we’re at the end of her journey then. CS Lewis wrote a prequel, which he wrote after The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, called The Magician’s Nephew, and that’s really interesting in terms of - what do they call it now? - a villain origin story! In The Magician’s Nephew, the White Witch is much more feisty, much more ‘punk rock’ - she does incredible things. She accidentally gets taken to London, she robs a jeweller’s store, she hijacks a handsome cab, she rips a lamp post out of the ground.

“When she goes back to Narnia, she eats an apple that gives her immortality, but by eating that apple, it resigns her to a life of misery. Not only does she freeze the world, she freezes herself… When Aslan returns, he thaws Narnia, and as he does that, he thaws her as well, I think, back to the person that she was in The Magician’s Nephew. It’s an incredibly interesting journey. I do play a lot of baddies, and I think it’s my job as an actor to find the sympathy, or find the root of that person, so that it doesn’t become a 2-D evil performance.”

While Katy has clearly explored the books to dive into the White Witch’s background, the Narnia series was never a favourite of hers as a child.

“It wasn’t really part of my childhood. I kind of always thought it was about posh kids - but I’ve grown up since then. It was really lovely for me as an adult to visit those books for the first time. I knew the gist. I knew there were kids that went through a wardrobe and into another world, but there are so many layers to the story. There’s so much depth to it, and I think I’ve really appreciated that as an adult.”

When producing The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, you have to address the elephant - or over-sized feline - in the room, and work out how to bring Aslan the Lion onto the stage. In this version, the lion is partly represented by an enormous puppet, with three puppeteers operating its head, heart and tail.

“We also have an actor on stage: Stanton Wright, who’s absolutely fantastic. He is Aslan the Man; he’s the soul of Aslan. My interactions are with the man, whereas the Pevensie children interact with the puppet - so actually, I don’t get to look at the puppet much on stage. It’s such a beautiful puppet. When I’m standing off-stage and it’s looking into the wings, sometimes I really feel like it’s looking into my soul.

“We’ve also got a beautiful cat puppet. When it’s backstage, it just looks like a pile of rags, but once the puppeteer has got hold of it, it becomes alive. It’s unbelievable!”

The Midlands is a familiar theatrical stomping ground for Katy, who is an associate artist at the Royal Shakespeare Company, where she appeared on stage during Sir Michael Boyd’s time as artistic director. She performed in the award-winning History Cycle, which included all eight of Shakespeare’s Histories, produced over two and a half years. In returning to the region, she will also be returning to her home.

“I actually really started out at the Belgrade. It’s a theatre that’s very close to my heart. The Belgrade used to have flats above it, and I used to live in one with my dog, for about a year. I was living in London at the time. It was my experience at the Belgrade, and everybody who worked there, the people of Coventry, that actually made me fall in love with Coventry - I moved there 25 years ago.”

She also works with the locally based EGO Performance Company, which this season is touring a landmark production.

“We are completely inclusive. We have a huge range of abilities, but we also have an academy for actors with special needs. We’ve just embarked on our first UK tour, with a play called You Know My Mum. It’s a really humorous, poignant look at how people with learning disabilities deal with grief.”

Having worked in the acting industry for over 30 years, it’s perhaps unsurprising to learn that Katy has a preference for performing on stage over appearing on screen. As a parting thought, she explains the reason why - and reveals her favourite theatrical experience.

“I love a live audience, but I also love being part of a company. You become like a family, and I love the social aspect. Also, artistically, I like to get on a wave and surf it all the way to the beach. What I find with TV or film is that you surf a little bit, and then you pick up your board and you get back on again. For me, I just love the flow of starting a character at A and ending up at Z - it just suits me as a performer.

“The greatest moment for me was doing the Histories. I played Joan of Arc in Henry VI Part One, and then I was burned at the stake. Then I reincarnated as Margaret of Anjou. I played Margaret as a young woman in Henry VI Part One and Part Two, as the leader of an army in Henry VI Part Three, and then as a crazy old crone in Richard III. I followed her journey all the way. Going back to what I was saying about surfing the wave - that was the biggest wave of all.”

The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe shows at The Alexandra, Birmingham, from Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 May; Stoke-on-Trent’s Regent Theatre from Tuesday 3 to Saturday 7 June and Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Tuesday 28 October - Saturday 1 November

By Jessica Clixby