Three of the books have already been filmed in Hollywood: “The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”, “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” and “Prince Caspian” Except in “The Horse and His Boy”, the protagonists are all children from the real world, magically transported to Narnia, where they are called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil. The fifth book in the series, it’s now adapted for the stage by Trumpets, written by Luna Inocian and directed by Jaime del Mundo.
The play makes inventive use of shadow play to help forward the story that helps transport you to Narnia. The story concerns a slave boy, Shasta, who encounters a talking horse, Bree, and a princess named Aravis running away from a forced marriage with her own talking horse, Hwin. It becomes a journey of self discovery for them, with Shasta eventually learning about his true identity. Aslan the Lion appears to show that God is always present in our daily activities.
Reb Atadero does well as Shasta, a seemingly unfortunate orphan boy who remains hopeful and feisty as he goes through a series of trials in life. He’s perfectly matched by Cara Barredo as Aravis and splending supported by Joel Trinidad and Jill Pena as the scene-stealing, imaginatively designed talking horses who have to make their “horse” movements believable in the eyes of the audience.
Offering eye-popping sets and production design by Mio Infante plus great looking costumes and some wonderful songs, “The Horse and His Boy” runs at the Meralco Theatre up to November 22. Get your tickets at TicketWorld at 891-9999 or 901-4364.
