Low-Budget Narnia: Now With 50% Less Wardrobe!

But How Old Is He In Dog Years?

I know the main bit was the 50% less wardrobe but the costuming and props for this show were my truly favourite part. A jaundiced, yet whimsical white witch, freaky but hospitable anteaters, and Azlan - but from Cats or something, are all costuming gems. The set was constantly changing, but creative, and there was never a dull moment in this performance. Featuring problematic Peter, floor licking Lucy, and three (easily offended) blind mice, this cast was huge. Instead of that inhibiting the fluidity of the story, though, I was constantly captivated by how much was always happening. These actors were all so expressive, and so funny. It was silly, it was crass, it was freaky, it was sort of illegal, and it was all undeniably Fringe. Kill em with moxy, audacity, passion, and budget cuts! This show will make you laugh, make you gasp, and make you regret bringing your young kids.

CARLY VOS, AYTC

What it may lack in wardrobe, it more than makes up for with nonstop comedy, clever gags, and delightfully campy charm. This is camp comedy at its finest—irreverent, self-aware, and bursting with energy.

The cast’s full-throttle commitment draws you in from the very first scene, inviting you on a hilariously un-magical journey through a delightfully twisted version of Narnia. There's truly something for everyone in this wildly entertaining production.

Dazed and confused. A complicated story made more complicated. Story mashups, quick wit, and mishaps led us on this journey through the wardrobe with every actor giving it their all.

A wee little wardrobe. A magical queen with jaundice. And a Lion god who ambles around every square inch of the stage with the attitude of the Rum Tum Tugger and the confidence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface.

This show is a capital P Parody, and no element of this C.S. Lewis’ classic is safe from a good ol' lampooning. You don’t necessarily need an intimate knowledge of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” to enjoy this production, but some familiarity with the original characters will help one understand how wonderfully twisted this show is. Psychopomp Comedy walks the knife’s edge when it comes to their sense of humour. They flirt with vulgarity and touch on some truly taboo subjects (like bestiality and pederasty), but they never descend into complete perversion or “Scary Movie” territory. There’s something for every comedy fan: we’ve got puns, irreverent one liners and so many unfortunate design choices that only add to the gleeful rompery.

Most jokes landed well for me, with one small exception. From an inclusion perspective (and in 2025): I could have done without the three blind mice section. The humour here relied on the trio struggling to cross the stage, desperately grasping onto each other, and they were always facing the wrong direction when addressing others. I struggled to find an angle on this joke here that wasn’t laughing at disability. 


It can sometimes be anxiety-inducing for neurodivergent audience members to walk into a show with a participation element, but the audience is fairly warned that the front row is the place to be if you want to risk having stage time yourself. For patrons with a tight schedule and limited travel time between shows, be aware that my performance ran 5-10 minutes long. Plan accordingly and enjoy the mayhem!

If you're familiar with The Chronicles of Narnia, this show is an absolute treat. It’s a brilliant, laugh-packed parody that delivers nonstop humor from start to finish. Every scene is loaded with clever gags, physical comedy, and perfectly timed slapstick – all packed into a tight, hilarious one-hour performance.

The cast gives it their all, with standout performances all around. The actor playing Lucy is especially hilarious – portraying the character with a perfectly awkward, slow-witted charm and priceless facial expressions. And Aslan? Let’s just say the “50% less wardrobe” line couldn’t be more accurate – and it’s comedy gold.

Brilliantly done. Go see it if you want an hour of pure fun and laughter!

I applaud the bravery of putting on a show with this form of comedy. The jokes and content are not for everybody but it was PERFECT for me. They really rely on the shock factor of how absurd the punch lines are. Even when some areas of the play seem to fall flat, the show is very fast paced so you can get right back on board for more silly moments from the four Pevensie siblings. The highlight of this play is the ensemble, such a strong dynamic and all actors give it their all to engage with the audience. 100% recommend seeing again, I had such a great time.

I really wanted to like this show, and there are some great cast members, costumes, and set pieces. However, every time this show attempted to engage with some of the more problematic bits of the original CS Lewis novel (i.e. racism/sexism) the punch lines were mean-spirited cheap shots that fell flat. The comedy in this show punches down, not up.

There are plenty of more self-aware comedy shows at the Fringe, go see them instead of this one.

Very predictable comedy tropes. A little crass and cringe and ultimately too over the top. They also repeat jokes over more than once which is a strange choice. The Edmonton journal gave it 3 stars which i think was generous.

Kind of wish I had the hour back. Suley Skip it.

Not for me at all. The comedy was cliche, predictable, and flat. If I could've left without bothering anyone 10 minutes in, I would've, but I was in the middle of the second row. The actors gave it their all and that impressed me at least. Somehow, despite the weirdness of the show, nothing was really effective enough to surprise or delight me. Maybe if this show had been put on in 2001 I would’ve laughed more, but in 2025 when so many kinds of clever and interesting comedy is available at any time, this felt like a miss.

Had a great time at Low-Budget Narnia. The cast is great, and the concept is really well realized. Very weird, funny, and quintessentially Fringe. Would recommend!

Low budget Narnia does a very good job at knowing what the show is and fully embracing it. The cast does a great job carrying you through the story while chaotically whipping through their very low cost set pieces. It's a very fun take on Fringe theatre and executed well.

It was the "50% less wardrobe" pun that did got me in the door.

This "low-budget" show, ironically, has a quite large cast, and despite joking about the "bad" costuming, actually does have a decent amount of costumes.

I went in expecting it to be an irreverent romp where about 75% of the jokes land and the other quarter whiff, and that's about right. There's a lot of biting and dark humour, satire, and of course needling the problematic aspects of C.S. Lewis's work.

I did find that even though a lot of the jokes were still hitting, it did go on a bit too long. I went to a 10 o'clock showing, and that's the right time. You want to be a bit tired and loose and have fun with this.

If you're a fan of Narnia, it's definitely worth seeing. If you're not, you may miss a few in-jokes.

But also, if you're a fan of Narnia you might think this is sacrilegious, so maybe better to have a casual relationship with the source material.