Step through the wardrobe for an enchanting evening of fantasy and folklore as the White Witch casts her spell over Wearside this week.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe has brought its slick theatrical interpretation of the literary classic back to the city - and as winter dawns it offers a night of icy escapism.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is running all this week at the Empire | Submitted

placeholder image — The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is running all this week at the Empire | Submitted

Like many people of my generation, I pored over C.S Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series (no YouTube back then, kids) and was obsessed with the late ‘80s BBC series.

And the classic portal tale loses none of its magic on the stage, which does a stellar job of transporting the audience from wartime Britain to a wild and ancient land far, far away.

I’ve seen this show a few times now and its clever - and beautiful - use of lighting, which drenches the stage and helps create the illusion of teleportation magically, never fails to impress.

So too do the musicians who nimbly move with the cast across the stage, instead of stuck down in the pit, which makes for more of an immersive aural experience.

Bringing the classic tale to life | Submitted

The sibling sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, (played by Joanna Adaran, Jesse Dunbar, Kudzai Mangombe and Bunmi Osadolor) are a tight unit, however, the characters do get overshadowed at times by the might of the White Witch and the chirpy animal characters, such as the loveable beavers, played with great comic timing by Ed Thorpe and Anya De Villiers.

Back to their frosty foe, she’s played by Katy Stephens in this tour who’s a real frosty presence with her cut glass diction, delicious malevolence and a winter wardrobe Anna Wintour would be proud of.

Her Chief of the Secret Police, the menacing Maugrim, played by Shane Antony-Whitely, is also a baddie you love to hate as he bounds and snarls his way across the stage. (I wouldn’t advise the show for young kids)

Act 2 seemed to have a better pace than the first and that was helped by the wise Aslan who arrives to save the siblings and put an end to the perpetual winter.

He’s played with a commanding calmness by Stanton Wright who, despite sharing the role with a roaring puppet, manages to work symbiotically with the structure to create one coherent, commanding character.

His Christ-like sacrifice is one of the most-moving scenes in this bewitching winter’s tale.

*The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is at Sunderland Empire until Saturday, November 15.