Enthusiasts of CS Lewis' 'The Horse and His Boy' bring book to life at Museum of the Bible
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A stage production of C.S. Lewis’ "The Horse and His Boy" is coming to the Museum of the Bible — a timeless tale of resilience, perseverance and hope that highlights God's unconditional love, according to the stars of the show.
From Jan. 20 through March 3, The Logos Theatre’s production of “The Horse and His Boy” in association with the C.S. Lewis Company Limited will premiere at the Museum of the Bible's World Stage Theater.
One of seven novels that comprise The Chronicles of Narnia series, The Horse and His Boy follows Shasta, a Narnian boy who was stolen from his home and raised as the son of a fisherman in Calormen. After learning that his adoptive father will sell him into slavery to a wealthy Taarkaan, he plots with the Taarkaan’s talking horse, Bree, captured from Narnia, to run away. Together, Bree and Shasta escape their cruel master and travel to Narnia, meeting another talking horse, Hwin, and Aravis, a young noblewoman seeking to escape an arranged marriage, along the way.
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The top priority when bringing The Horse and His Boy to life was honoring Lewis’ artistry and commitment to excellent storytelling, director Nicole Stratton told reporters gathered at a media preview of the event.
“If you love the books, hopefully, you'll be very pleased with this production, because we are very much book enthusiasts of Lewis,” she said. “My job in taking the book from the stage is to make sure that the script is not just for book enthusiasts of Narnia, but also for people who have never read the book before.”
To write the script and adapt the story for the stage, Stratton, who serves as the artistic director for the Academy of Arts Logos Theatre in Taylor, South Carolina, consulted with Douglas Gresham, Lewis’ stepson, who “held my feet to the fire on a lot of different things,” she said. Gresham ultimately put his stamp of approval on the production.
“We're very grateful for the opportunity to do 'Narnia,' to know Douglas Gresham, and to have his stamp of approval on this,” she said. “So, I would safely say, since he approved of it and loved it — he said it was the best Narnia adaptation he had ever seen on the stage. And so that right there was like, well, maybe if he loved it, maybe Lewis himself would.”
Logos Theatre’s production of the beloved tale is elaborate, complete with life-sized puppets, a detailed set and intricate costumes. Stratton’s 13-year-old son, Brinton, stars as Shasta, while 16-year-old Lilliana Groth plays Aravis.
Head puppeteer Justin Swain told The Christian Post that each puppet, controlled by several puppeteers and made of a combination of foam and plastic, weighs around 80 pounds. Operating the puppets takes skill and thought, he said, but he, like the other members of The Logos Theater, sees his work as ministry.
“We're not just entertainment, but we're faith and Christianity all smashed into this entertainment venue,” he said. “And a huge part of the Christian walk is humility, and it's a vital feature for anyone that's portraying puppets because you're no longer the thespian on stage performing, but you're actually serving something else, an inanimate object; it's lifeless without us. So there are so many neat ways to grow as a human being, as a performer through puppetry, but we teach that humility is the chief.”
Though The Horse and His Boy is widely considered a children’s book, it deals with some heavy topics, including suicide ideation — Aravis and Shasta are so despondent they consider ending their own lives — and deep themes like redemption and hope. Aslan, Lewis’ famed talking lion that parallels Jesus throughout the Narnia books, is a central figure in The Horse and His Boy, guiding the children throughout their journeys.
“C.S. Lewis is very unique in the way that he incorporates the real-life troubles for children,” Groth told CP. “And I feel like that's very important to know … you have to realize that there is trouble in the world.”
“So something to take away from the play is, even when you feel like there's no one there, even when you feel like God is not with you, He is there. Something that Aravis goes through a lot is, she feels like she can do it by herself, and she feels like she's courageous and she can do it. And she comes to the end of her rope a lot, where she has to turn to someone, and the only person she can turn to who is powerful enough to face the darkness is Aslan. And that's something that's truly beautiful that C.S. Lewis incorporated into the story, is, the feeling that God is there, and God is the ultimate power throughout the whole story.”
Though he died in 1963, Lewis remains one of the best-known Christian authors around the world. Over the years, his fiction writings have been turned into numerous stage, film and TV projects.
Stratton revealed that Lewis enthusiasts have traveled from around the world to see the stage adaptation of the story — “and they gave us very good reviews,” she said, adding: “They’re so picky about everything, but they are picky because they love it so much, and they know the books so well.”
Though they hope fans come from far and wide to see “The Horse and His Boy,” showrunners say their goal is to glorify the name of Christ and point readers to the truth of the Gospel through the production — something Lewis himself sought to do through his work.
“We're not just trying to sell tickets. We're not just trying to make our name look big. We are actually about the point of what Lewis was about,” Swain said. “And he so craftily and artfully weaves his beliefs into these stories. And for us to be able to see those and really maximize and highlight them, that's where a lot of us and the purists align and connect on, is that we both share a heart for what Lewis' heart was.”
Established in 2010 by the Green family, the Museum of the Bible is a global, innovative, educational institution whose purpose is to invite all people to engage with the transformative power of the Bible.
Museum of the Bible Chief Revenue Officer Garrett Hinton told reporters that in the coming months, the museum intends to bring more meaningful stories to the stage.
“This will not be a one-off,” he said. “We want 12 months of constant entertainment in this theater.”
“The Horse and His Boy” will run more than 40 performances from Jan. 20 through March 3. Four American Sign Language shows will take place on Jan. 25-26 and Feb. 15-16. Tickets to C.S. Lewis’ "The Horse and His Boy" are available now.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
