Sunday, November 10, 2024

Script Review: ''The Horse and His Boy'' (1990 Play) By Rebekah Walton

https://www.concordtheatricals.co.uk/p/10950/the-horse-and-his-boy



When we think of adaptations of C.S. Lewis’s ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', the latest buzz often revolves around Netflix’s upcoming productions. But, as news about the movies and series remains quiet, I decided to dive into something from the past—specifically, a stage adaptation of ''The Horse and His Boy'' (HHB) that was performed in 1990. After all, while I can't experience these productions live (being both from another time and country), I could certainly explore them through their scripts.

The script I read was for the 1990 play ''The Horse and His Boy'', adapted by Glyn Robbins and published by Samuel French LTD. This particular adaptation was performed by Vanessa Ford Productions at the Charter Theatre in Preston on September 25, 1990, before being staged at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. The cast included Kieron Smith as Shasta/Cor, Felicity Duncan as Aravis, Stephen Omer as Hwin, and Robert Neil Kingham as Bree.

After reading through this script, I felt it was a solid adaptation, but with some noticeable quirks and challenges that made it an intriguing piece to analyze. Let’s break it down.
 

 Condensing the Story: The Struggle to Balance

One of the most apparent features of this script is its condensation of the original HHB novel into a short, stage-friendly format. While this is a necessary choice for any theatrical adaptation, the effect is mixed. The play remains mostly faithful to the book’s plot, but several key details are trimmed or altered for the sake of simplicity, and some elements become confusing due to the lack of a full cast.

In particular, the script has to account for a shortage of actors, which leads to several character combinations. A big example of this is the merging of the character Rabadash with Ahoshta, the man Aravis is being forced to marry. Ahoshta, in the book, is an older, unattractive man, but in the play, he is reimagined as Rabadash, who in the book and this script a handsome, younger prince. This transformation introduces a significant plot hole—Rabadash, in the play’s version, seems to be set to marry multiple women at once, including Aravis and Susan Pevensie, which does not align with the book’s narrative.

The merging of these characters, while perhaps a necessary choice due to actor constraints, introduces confusion. In the book, Aravis’s escape from her unwanted marriage to Ahoshta is driven by her fear of a terrible fate, yet in the play, this urgency is lost. She doesn’t need to escape anymore since Rabadash’s intentions have shifted. The play also introduces an additional Tarkeena (a noblewoman of Calormen) who is vying for Rabadash’s affections, making the whole situation even messier. The result is a muddled plot where it’s hard to track who is trying to marry whom, and why.
 

The Problem with Shasta’s Unicorn Confusion

Another point of confusion stems from Shasta’s storyline. In the book, Shasta has a pivotal moment where he speaks to a unicorn and learns about an impending attack on Narnia. In this adaptation, however, Shasta’s worry about how to inform the Narnians lingers throughout the night, yet later in the script, he casually mentions that a unicorn had told him about the attack. The unicorn conversation is referenced, but we never actually see it happen on stage, making it feel like a missed opportunity to connect the dots.

While this could be chalked up to the constraints of live theater, where not every detail can be shown, it feels like an essential moment that’s glossed over in an unsatisfying way. The script doesn’t provide enough clarity as to how Shasta knows this critical piece of information, leaving audiences in the dark (literally and figuratively).
 

The Unnecessary Rabadash and Aravis Marriage Plot

One of the major differences in this script, when compared to the book, is the portrayal of Aravis's unwanted marriage. In C.S. Lewis’s original story, Aravis's father arranges for her to marry Ahoshta, a man she finds repulsive and old. The play, however, complicates this by turning Ahoshta into Rabadash, a much younger and more attractive character. This transformation seems unnecessary, and in fact, takes away from the original story’s tension. Aravis’s defiance against an arranged marriage made sense in the book because of Ahoshta’s grotesque appearance and age.

If the character was simply omitted entirely and only mentioned by the other characters (as it was in the book), or even if the character of Ahoshta was played by someone already portraying another role (like perhaps the Calormen who owned Bree), it might have been easier for the script to flow more smoothly. As it stands, Rabadash's multiple engagements and marriages, as presented in the script, make little sense. Aravis would likely have been less inclined to go to such extreme lengths (such as running away or contemplating death) had she known that Rabadash was not considering marrying her at all. Not to mention Rabadash is young and handsome.
 

Overall Assessment

So, how does this script stack up overall? Despite its confusing moments and occasional contradictions, I still found HHB stage adaptation of 1990 to be an enjoyable read. There’s something charming about how the script retains the spirit of the original novel, even if the execution leaves a little to be desired.

If I had to rate the script, I’d give it a B+ or 6 out of 10. The play's reliance on a reduced cast leads to some convoluted character decisions that complicate the plot, but it doesn’t completely detract from the story’s core themes of friendship, bravery, and self-discovery. I’d definitely be open to watching a live performance of it, as I’m sure the actors and staging would help clarify some of the script’s more confusing moments.

One of the elements I appreciated in this adaptation, however, was that Aravis didn’t end up fighting in the final battle, as she did in an Australian version of the play. That decision kept the integrity of the original story intact, and I’m grateful for that.
 

How I Would Change It

If I had the chance to revise the script, I would suggest removing the need for a character to play a man engaged to Aravis (Rabadash/Ahoshta). In the book, Aravis’s aversion to this arranged marriage is explained primarily through her own feelings and her relationship with her father. We never meet Ahoshta directly—Aravis describes him as old, hunchbacked, and unattractive. Recasting him as Rabadash, who is not only handsome but also much younger, changes the dynamic too drastically. I believe the tension could have been maintained without making this change.

Additionally, the subplot involving Shasta's communication with the unicorn should be handled more clearly, either through dialogue or direct action on stage. As it stands, it feels like a missed opportunity to bring some of the book’s magic to the stage.

 Conclusion

This 1990 adaptation of *The Horse and His Boy'' might not be perfect, but it offers a glimpse into how these beloved characters and stories have been reimagined for the stage. While there are a few narrative bumps along the way, the script still captures the essence of the original novel. For fans of the Narnia series who are curious about the many adaptations over the years, this play script is a fascinating piece of history that deserves a closer look.

In other news, we had our first blonde actress play Lucy in 1993 at Vanessa Ford Productions at the Royalty Theatre, I am gointg to try to find that script next. Her name was Eliza Chadwick, wish me luck, and I am hoping that we get our first blonde Lucy on film in the upcoming Netflix Production by Greta Gerwig. 



Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Greta Gerwig for Narnia?



 

I was going to make this about her previous works, but since I have only seen one up to date (Little Women), I realized I have really nothing to add to the conversation if I approach it this way.

But, I have been thinking instead about what I want for Narnia now, and so, instead of telling you what I think of Greta Gerwig (not Greta Thundberg, no matter how much I accidentally mess up and say this in real life, that would be a very different production.) due to her previous works, I will discuss what I would like to see from this production of hers. (I have no idea if she will do well or not, considering the directors we have had in past, I would have told you at the time of VODT that I thought Michael would do a better job than Andrew just based on their previous movies, but, that was clearly not the case. Andrew did pretty okay, and Michael failed miserably.)

I want Narnia to be it's own thing. I want it to set it self apart from the other fantasy worlds and also from the previous adaptations of Narnia. 

I want my next Lucy with blonde hair (we haven't had an  hair color accurate Lucy yet, except in animated form.), Edmund to have fair hair ( I love Skandar Keynes, but, we have to move on, and most likely in the book he had blonde or very light colored hair according to HHB), I want my Caspian (and age accurate) with blonde hair, and to stay the same actor in PC to VODT. I want Susan to be Susan the Gentle. I want to finally meet Aravis and Polly and to finally get the romance story of Aravis and Shasta (our interracial couple, and parents of King Ram the best King of Archenland). I want my Dryads and Naiads and Merfolks to have Human form and clothes.(The Dryads and Naiads marry into the Human race of Narnia and Archenland.) I want my White Witch to have black hair again. (I actually have a suggestion for this actress, Catherine-Zeta Jones). 




I want the world of Narnia to not feel so small, I want new landscapes and new shooting locations not filmed in New Zealand or Australia. Please, do not make Narnia look like all these other fantasy stories. 


Lastly, but not least, I want Narnia to make their own clothes. Narnia is not a just a medieval fantasy, but rather it is a whole different world with 1900s inspiration from the humans, and tons of magical and mythological creatures including Naiads and Dryads, Mermaids, Stars (that look like humans,) Dufflepuds, Fairies (Fairy Godmothers,), and Atlantis was real, the clothes should definitely portray this. Narnia should go through different fashion periods depending on the years in Narnia. Yes, there should be some medieval inspirations but, there should also be other time periods in there, and it should change and develop. Persian, Greek, Indian, East Asian, etc should all be involved. 



Please change Netflix Narnia for the better and go full out to make Narnia feel big and real. 















Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Narnia Spin-Off series for Netflix by Rebekah Walton


Since I am in general a Narnian Purist Book fan, you would probably expect me to be against Narnia Netflix spin off series (Any series that did not follow the Narnia books but, instead created it’s own story, which I guess they did with the VODT movie but, most people just say they did a bad job of following the story they started.), but, this is not exactly true.

 

I think that you can do it well if you follow certain rules. As such since it is going to Netflix and I expect them to eventually do this because of the way Narnia was marketed to them by having ‘‘3,000 characters’’ (not even close to that many characters named in the 7 books),and being a ‘‘universe’’.

With that in mind, I would like to give the Netflix fanfiction spin-off series, a chance to be loved by created a list of rules, they should follow in keep in mind while they write scripts, cast actors and film.

C.S. Lewis was not against fan fiction, in fact, if they ever want to finish Susan’s story (since he never told us her ending) they would be more than welcome to.

But, here are the rules:

1. Anything unNarnian should be kept out of Narnia. (such as, certain sins that are never mentioned in the series, those would be very weird and come off as trying to send a message about today’s culture in Narnia, when they are not the same.) 

2. Flesh out what Lewis left out. (example: Susan's story ending could be a spin off series or most likely a movie.)

3.  All the course of History, Narnia and Our World must stay the same.

4.  Cannonical to the books Lewis created. (All of the boundaries that Lewis created in the Chronicles must stay the same, and no extra trips to Narnia can be made other than the trips mentioned in the series. Characters can be added as long as they do not change the follow of the story, the series of events, or the character of other characters in the series)

(Of course, I would not want them to make anything like Anne with an E series on Netflix, but, this can barely be called an adaptation anymore, it strays so far from the material and changes the characters a whole lot. I am against anything along those lines.)

Note: Calormens for the most part hate Narnians and Archenlanders, Narnians and Archenlanders have no problems them, as seen in the Horse and His Boy as Susan almost marries one, and Shasta and Aravis marry and their son is the best King of Archenland. (Shasta is an Archenlander Prince and Aravis part of the ruling house of Calormen.)

So, racism does occur (Calormens are a different shade of skin than the Narnians and Archenlaners but, it is only from the Calormen’s side, certain evil dwarfs are racist against all Telemarines because they are Telemarines and there are slaves but, not in Narnia only in countries that are not Narnia or Archenland, and they are not strickly sold because of their shade of skin but, rather their social status in the Lone Islands before it was banished and Calormen. If all of this is understood, racism may be present in the Netflix series.)

  

Keeping those rules in mind here are some ideas for Narnia Netflix Spin-off ideas:

1.      King Frank and Queen Helen series (building a kingdom, raising their kids)

2.      The Golden Age of Narnia series (The Pevensies ruling, Corin gets a girl, Cor and Aravis ruling, Ram the Great, ends with the Telmarines taking over, Queen Swanwhite. Lord Peridan)

3.      The Seven Friends of Narnia series (Living life in the UK. Jill Pole and Eustace meet the other friends of Narnia, school life, Jill Pole takes archery lessons, etc.)

4.      Susan series(Susan dealing with the aftermath of the traincrash) (this spin-off can be darker and gritter and rated differently than the rest, and since it includes our world can include issues not found in the rest of the series.

        It would be best for the series to try to include Lewis’ salvation story in essence in Susan’s story or have Susan meet Lewis (the narrator of the books) and tell him about their time spent in Narnia except for the Last Battle after she realizes they were not just stories they made up as children. Although, now that I think about it, Lewis or Susan could see what happens in The Last Battle through a dream and then record all that happens down in a book.)

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, August 8, 2019

The Horse and His Boy stage play by Rebekah Walton




The best stage play I have ever seen for this Underrated Narnia book. I am not sure why this book is underrated by those who do not really know the Narnia series, because this and Voyage of the Dawn Treader are some of the most popular among Narnia fans in general. 


In order to correctly review this stage play, I am going to compare what I saw the night I went compared to what other people saw on other nights of the same stage play, since some of the details changed as far as I can tell from their reviews. The night I saw the play was the last niight it was performed and I know that some of the actors changed from when the production was first performed earlier in the year, because they mentioned that Aravis and Shasta (the main two actors throughout the story) were able to stay with the production through the end. If all of your cast was the sae to the end, you would not talk about how these two actors were the same. They seemed to have changed Lasaraleen, Aravis' step mom, Rabadash, Older Shasta, Older Aravis, and Queen Susan actors from the begining of this play performance. 



Firstly, let me talk about a difference I noticed that I think they changed from opening night. According to Narniaweb.com, ''However, Aslan and Shasta do not at any point meet face-to-face. In the book, Shasta sees Aslan at the very end of their conversation, but in the play Aslan remains hidden in the fog throughout the entire scene.'' 


But, on the night I watched, Aslan and Shasta did meet face to face. The fog cleared up and Shasta saw Aslan at the end of their conversation.
So, it seems they changed that section from opening night. But, in general, the play seems to be performed the same way as all the other reviews.
Just to let you know, Shasta was played by 3 different actors and Aravis was played by 2 different actors (Married couple Shasta and Aravis, Teenage Shasta and Aravis, and younger Shasta, not to mention Baby Shasta, who I think was a doll.)
My favorite performances were done by Shasta (Isaiah Johnson ), Aslan (Nicky Chavers), Aravis, (Hope Barr), Lasaraleen (Nicole Stratton), and Rabadash (Wesley Cannon ). These  performances stood out and really helped the play in general.

Bree and Hwin were played by puppets that were controlled by three people, one moving the neck and head and the other two inside the puppet. It was an effect that was unsual but, I found the style easy to get use to and I found that I liked it better than just simply one person in a costume, not to mention, Aravis and Shasta also rode these puppets in the play which is something they would not have been able to probably do if the design was different.

In general, I enjoyed the play and I would watch it again if I could and I want to see the rest of their stage Narnia plays when they come out.

When the first scene played out, (they started with the backstory of Shasta), I thought to myself that it was a musical since Corin and Cor's mom sang a song in the opening scene and I was excited, especially since no one had mentioned it was a musical.

Turns out, that was the only song in the whole play. It was not a musical. But, that did not detract from the play in general, and fans of the one of the only cannon romances in Narnia (Shasta/Aravis) will be happy to know that they did hint to it a couple of times before the weddding at the end of the play. Shasta and Aravis hug when he comes back to talk to her at the hermit's house as Prince. This hug felt more than a just friends hug. Plus, when they met at the tombs, Aravis was overjoyed to see Shasta and it felt like there was something more there.


The wedding scene was very pretty on stage and although the Pevensies stage hunting mention did detract a little from the scene it still felt very on point with the wedding. There was narration in the play but, not as much as the book had, they still did a lot of show rather than tell. This play seemed to make me have the same emotions I had while reading the book. I cried when Bree said, "Shasta didn't!" snorted Bree. "At least he ran in the right direction: ran back. And that is what shames me most of all. I, who called myself a war-horse and boasted of a hundred fights, to be beaten by a little human boy — a child, a mere foal, who had never held a sword nor had any good nurture or example in his life!"




Corin made me laugh quite a few times and I loved Lasaraleen's scenes. I wanted to see more of her. Overall, the play was awesome and I feel like a film version needs to follow this script to make it even half as good as this play.
To read more reviews on this play: https://www.narniaweb.com/2019/03/review-the-horse-and-his-boy-at-logos-theatre/, and https://www.thelionscall.com/2019/07/29/review-logos-theatres-the-horse-and-his-boy/ .






Saturday, November 10, 2018

Narnian Owls by Rebekah Walton

What kind of Owls should be used for references for the Narnian Owls? I have done some research on this subject because I believe it is an important factor. Firstly, how many owl types are there: 216 species.
(Pictures of each)

https://www.audubon.org/news/learn-identify-five-owls-their-calls

https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/learn-to-identify-the-distinctive-calls-of-owls/

https://www.thespruce.com/owl-identification-tips-387325

https://www.owlpages.com/owls/sounds.php

https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/owls-you-might-hear-night


According to these I think the owls should be Barred Owls.


You read these pages and then go back and read the book lines and then you decide for yourself.

Is Susan Lost? By Rebekah Walton




Really, this a terrible question it presents the asker of it as a person who does not care about anyone else, the dwarves, Harold and Alberta and the rest of the people on that trainwreck. 

After all, those people should be important as well, but, the person asking Is Susan Lost cares nothing about those other people and only cares about a person who did not die and therefore the story does not tell us the ending of. We do not know the ending of Susan. 

All we know is that right now she thinks her siblings are being rather silly. But, earlier in the Chronicles of Narnia we say statements like ‘‘Once a King or Queen of Narnia always a king or queen of Narnia’’, which means to me if you just forget about something that does not make it any less true. 

Let’s look at what the seven friends of Narnia said about Susan.


“My sister Susan,” answered Peter shortly and gravely, “is no longer a friend of Narnia.”“Yes,” said Eustace, “and whenever you’ve tried to get her to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says, ‘What wonderful memories you have! Fancy your still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.’”

 "Oh, Susan! She's interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations. She always was a jolly sight too keen on being grown-up." –Jill Pole

"Grown-up, indeed. I wish she would grow up. She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age. Her whole idea is to race on to the silliest time of one's life as quick as she can and then stop there as long as she can."- Polly

Now, let’s look at what Lewis mentioned about her later:

Lewis wrote to a young reader in 1957: “The books don’t tell us what happened to Susan. She is left alive in this world at the end, having by then turned into a rather silly, conceited young woman. But there’s plenty of time for her to mend and perhaps she will get to Aslan’s country in the end . . . in her own way.”

In his Companion to Narnia, Paul F. Ford writes at the end of the entry for Susan Pevensie that "Susan's is one of the most important Unfinished Tales of The Chronicles of Narnia", but adds in Footnote 1 for that entry:
‘‘This is not to say, as some critics have maintained, that she is lost forever ... It is a mistake to think that Susan was killed in the railway accident at the end of The Last Battle and that she has forever fallen from grace. It is to be assumed, rather, that as a woman of twenty-one who has just lost her entire family in a terrible crash, she will have much to work through; in the process, she might change to become truly the gentle person she has the potential for being.’’

Someone  on Narniaweb said, ‘‘He never said Susan was permanently barred from Narnia, just that – at the time of LB – she was preoccupied with more shallow things to the neglect of the important things.’’

 Which to me is exactly the point. But, also, wow, no one is thinking about Harold and Alberta who lost their son and the Pevensies save Susan in a car accident. They were also too preoccupied about being healthy to think about Christ. But, surely  they saw what a different child Eustace was once he came back from Narnia. 

According to the books, when Eustace returns home after his adventures, his mother thinks he has become tiresome and commonplace, blaming the change on the influence of "those Pevensie children" — though everyone else thinks he has become a much better person. But, surely after the death of their son and the Pevensies, both Harold and Alberta would go over to the house where Susan was living and would mourn over their deaths. 

So, the question should not be Is Susan Lost, but rather How long is it going to take Susan to come back to realizing what is right? Susan was not the only person who lost people in that train accident and likely, some boy lost a family member in that accident as well. And then when she comes to mourn and put flowers at the accident she meets the young man who also came to do the same thing……Oh, sorry, a fan fiction in the works….

But, really when I think of Susan all I can think about is how her story is ripe for fan fiction. 

And this is the basis of Lewis’ beliefs about fan fiction in relation to Narnia. Writing to a young fan, C.S Lewis states, “I am delighted to hear that you liked the Narnian books. There is a map at the end of some of them in some editions. But why not do one yourself! And why not write stories for yourself to fill up the gaps in Narnian history? I’ve left you plenty of hints – especially where Lucy and the Unicorn are talking...I feel I have done all I can!"(104).

 In this way, Lewis is saying I have written books to encourage fan fiction and creativity. So, if you are so worried about Susan being lost, why don’t you write your own fan fiction already?






 Just to get you started, here’s an idea HPofNARNIA and Fireberry suggested  on Narniaweb:

 Susan has someone arrive at her door.
"Hey, I’m sorry to say this to you but- your family is dead"
Susan: *Eyes wide open* "What!"
"There was a terrible Accident. your Parents, your Brothers and Sister and your Cousin were in a train, it crashed and killed them, along with your Cousin’s friend, the Professor you stayed with and his friend. They’re all dead. I’m sorry."
Susan: *Gasp* 
That’s all I can think of.
… And the next day, Susan goes to the scene of the railway accident to lay down a huge wreath of flowers … and by the side of the tracks, she notices something … green and yellow rings? She approaches and reaches down to pick up a yellow ring. and … TO BE CONTINUED!

So, there’s your jumpstart, write away. 
Or since Netflix now owns Narnia, here's your ending to The Last Battle.



Sunday, September 10, 2017

Eustace /Jill Romance (Eustill) by Rebekah Walton

This is the only non-cannon Narnian Romance that I would say has real possibilities within the Chronicles.







Many would argue that the only reason that they did not together in Chronicles was because they died.

With that said, does that mean that I want a really fleshed out romance for them in the movies? No. I still do not.

 (I don't even want a teen romance between Aravis and Shasta. And they are a cannon couple.
I just want them to focus on the adventure story and then at the end show their wedding years later and them ruling the kingdom.)

I think fleshed out romance would take away from the core of the story and would be distracting to the audience. But, I see nothing wrong with having an implied romance. This romance is pretty popular considering the number of fan fictions on this pairing is quite high and only is below the dreaded romance that will not be named and Lucy and Caspian ( an inferred and possibly implied romance in the film).
Which means even if they do not imply the romance between Eustace and Jill, many people will still infer it.

I think implying a possible romance between Eustace and Jill is one of the best things that they can do considering what things might happen if they do not properly deal with other elements.

 In the Silver Chair there are three guys and a girl who are heavily involved in the story. Caspian does not count guys, he's really old and (spoiler) dies. We have the Prince/Knight Rilian, Eustace, and Puddleglum. Jill kissed Puddleglum, and Rilian calls her ''lady'', and ''damsel''.

 So, there are two very bad directions this film could go. (I am not sure if I even have to name them. But, just incase, we could end up with a love triangle or create needless shippings which are way worse and distracting from the story than Eustill.)

Now, they could just stick with the book and keep Eustace and Jill at age 9 and then they won't have any of these issues, but I don't have enough faith in them, to even think that they could do this properly. (VODT movie left me with no faith in producers, and directors, or script writers.) But, I am afraid all Hollywood knows is how to ruin things.


In order to make sure this is doesn't blow up, we have create the age difference factor for Puddleglum and Jill. Plus, make sure the kiss is on the forehead or something (in the book, Jill is nine, but in movies they like to age up characters). So, that would solve the Puddleglum problem.

Now on to the Rilian problem. Rilian is a prince and a knight and any girl might fall for him. In the books, Rilian is around 30. But, if they make Rilian really handsome and age them to their teens, no one will even care about age different and we will end up with another forbidden romance(the romance that will not be named). We could make a girl at home really like him, and when he comes back (she should not go on the journey with them.) he can see her and remember her from his childhood and they can hug, thus ruining any potential romance between Jill and Rilian.


 Also, a method to stop this from happening is to imply a romance between Eustace and Jill. Is this the only way they could stop the other potential romances with an implied Eustace and Jill romance? No, but this is an easy way to get around those other issues.


But, remember guys implied is implied, I still don't want a kiss or them declaring love or like  for each other.


Simple things like holding hands and hugging are fine if they do not distract too much from the story.

So, no, Eustill romance is not the worst thing that could ever happen. In fact, an implied romance might save us from worse things.

(By the way, the worst thing that could ever happen is Silver Chair movie to become like Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie, but that is another post for another time.)