There can’t be many pantos where the audience singalong is to Girly Girl Productions’ 10 Drunk Cigarettes – but if that’s a reference you recognise, you’ll be in your element here.
A very rude and very adult parody of CS Lewis’ Narnia stories, this version sees the sexually repressed Pete (played by Yannick Budd) and Eddie (Connor Headley) despatched as refugees from the Blitz to McSweeney’s Home for Big Butch Boys – despite being, for legal reasons, explicitly over 18.
When they get there, everything else is explicit too. From fawn Mr Topless’ version of Pink Pony Club to a rendition of Defying Gravity where the key rhyme is cavity, there isn’t much nuance here. Inevitably the pair get help from the Hungry Beaver (Holly Ashman), mostly for the repeated euphemisms.
The Tight Bitch evil queen (Grant Cartwright) draws most of the attention, urging on the boos and revelling in cackles – including extra ones where the limitations of the staging mean they have to sneak across the back of the set after a dramatic exit. It’s all part of the knowingly exaggerated charm.
It’s Ashman that really holds things together though, doubling up as Labubu, the surgically-enhanced Asslan, and more besides. All the cast take on multiple roles, and what they occasionally lack in vocal chops they make up for in enthusiasm and energy. Headley’s ability to dance like a fawn is unnerving, and Cartwright sales masterfully through the audience participation.
Writer Joshua Coley has put together a raucously queer take on the children’s classic and so long as you’re not beyond some smut, it’s frequently fiercely funny. It is however overlong at two and a half hours; perhaps when Asslan goes for their next surgery they could get the script tightened too. Bigger isn’t always better.
It’s definitely a welcome alternative to traditional Christmas fair though, as proven by the well-lubricated (by drink) audience reaction and the fact the nine-night run has sold out. Oh yes it has…
- The Liar, The Bitch, and The Wardrobe continues at Norwich Theatre Playhouse until Saturday 20 December 2026, tickets £16-18.
