Young thespians at Saltus Grammar School will be transporting audiences to CS Lewis? magical world of Narnia tonight as their rendition of ?The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe? opens.

The school?s drama teacher Sarah Davison said she chose to make this story the students? Christmas season play for a variety of reasons.

?I saw the play when it received its premiere in Stratford upon Avon in 1998,? she said.

?I was a student at the time and the magic of the piece really captivated me. I thought it was nice that a children?s Christmas show could still have that appeal for adults.?

While generations have been exposed to the magical tale of Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan and their adventures having passed through the wardrobe in the classic novel, a Disney movie released last year, ?The Chronicles of Narnia?, exposed the story to even greater audiences.

?Given the success of the Disney movie last year it seemed an ideal time to give it a revival and its Bermuda premiere,? said Ms Davison.

The play also lends itself well to a young cast as it is centred The play also lends itself well to a young cast as it is centred around the four Pevensie children.

?I think it lends itself extremely well to being a school play,? Ms Davison said. ?Also it is fantastically Christmassy.?

The contrast between the beauty of Bermuda and stark, cold winters common in most of North America also provides a potent drawing source when imagining the shock of finding Narnia in the back of a wardrobe, she suggested.

?It was very odd having gotten used to bleak, dark freezing winter nights in the run up to Christmas to suddenly be presented with palm trees and Christmas day on the beach,? said Ms Davison.

?Therefore, the snow and ice of Narnia creates a nice contrast to the beautiful weather that there generally is outside in (Bermuda).?

The play is set in 1940s England, at the height of the Blitz during World War Two.

The Pevensie children are evacuated to the country to live with an old uncle.

?In the Professor?s large sprawling house, Lucy discovers a miraculous thing, a wardrobe that will take her to the magical land of Narnia, a land ruled over by a wicked Queen and enchanted to be always winter and never Christmas,? said Ms Davison.

As they find themselves in this enchanted land, the children soon learn that they have very important ? and even Royal ? roles within it.

A talented young line-up of actors are set to tackle this musical version of the story, which was adapted by Adrian Mitchell and with music by Shaun Davey.

Set to play the four Pevensies are James Waddell as Peter, Jessica Zuiker as Susan, Blake Sonnenfeld as Edmund and Jennifer Anstee in the role of Lucy, the youngest.

The many colourful characters of Narnia are brought to life by Jonathan Hopwood as the faun Mr. Tumnus, Phillip Bergquist as Beaver, Sophie Pearson as Mrs. Beaver, Sasha Slayton as the White Witch, Nolan Moniz as Grumpskin and Adam Kiki Charles as the lion ? Aslan.

The play will be performed in the Saltus Grammar School Senior Hall tonight, tomorrow and Saturday at 7.30 p.m. and on Sunday there will be a matinee at 2.30 p.m.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children. Contact 292-2235 for tickets.