Narnia’s White Witch finds surprise inspiration in Asgard
C.S. LEWIS ADAPTATION: Show’s villain borrows from Marvel movie mischief maker
It’s always winter, but never Christmas in Narnia.
In C.S. Lewis’s classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia, the four Pevensie siblings step through a wardrobe into the enchanted yet accursed land. Carousel for Young People’s production of the theatrical version of the story has proven popular enough for the company to extend the show’s run until Jan. 6.
We talked to Sereana Malani, who plays the White Witch, about morning performances, inspiration for her character and the things kids say.
Q: What’s it like going from an evening schedule to acting first thing in the morning?
A: There’s a period of adjustment for sure. It does work against the normal theatre rhythm. Usually you’re rolling up to the theatre for an eight o’clock show. But you get used to it.
Carousel describes the White Witch as “asserting intense, deathly power.” Is that like any other roles you’ve played?
The closest I can think of is Lady Macbeth (for Edmonton-based company Theatre Prospero). She (the White Witch) is channelling a little bit of that. She’s hungry for power. The means are different, but the spirit is similar.
Did you watch the movie for inspiration?
I watched it when it first came to theatres years ago (2005). But I didn’t feel the need to go back. What did give me some surprise inspiration was Thor: Ragnarok. I went to see it with my husband and I had no idea Cate Blanchett was playing the villain. She plays Hela, the goddess of war. The way she strutted about and revelled in her mischief and troublemaking, I took a bit of inspiration from that.
A review of the opening night performance of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe noted that when the White Witch offers a drink to Edmund (one of the Pevensie siblings) someone yelled out, “Don’t drink it!” The kids in the audience must say the darndest things.
Oh, man. Where do I start. One of the joys of doing theatre for young people is the audience. It’s the most honest audience you will ever perform for. There’s pretty much not a show that goes by where there isn’t some exclamation coming from the crowd.
Just today, the scene where the witch offers Edmund some Turkish delight, a little voice in the crowd goes, “What’s Turkish delight?” And there’s a scene at the end where the witch stabs Edmund and you can hear voices going “No!” and gasps.
There’s another moment where the children are being crowned. The characters are announced like, “King Edmund!” The kids catch on and started shouting with the actors, “King Edmund!” They instinctively know they can lend their voice to that part of the show. There’s never a dull moment and it’s always different, every show.