Lyn Gardner unpacks William Nicholson’s moving play about C.S. Lewis, the man behind Narnia.

What is it?

A revival of William Nicholson’s 1989 play, Shadowlands which comes to the Aldwych Theatre next February in a production from Chichester Theatre which stars Downton Abbey and Paddington star Hugh Bonneville as C. S. Lewis, author of the Narnia books.

Oh, so there will be wardrobes and fauns and lamp posts?

Actually no. Although you might say that Lewis’ heart was frozen, just like Narnia. He had never recovered from the trauma of his mother’s death as a child and reached late middle age as a crusty don at Magdalen College, Oxford, in the 1950s, both an emotional and physical virgin. He took solace in his Christian faith and academic study. But then unexpectedly he was surprised by Joy.

Hugh Bonneville, Andrew Havill and Liz White in the 2019 Chichester production of Shadowlands. Photo by Tristram Kenton.

Eh, shouldn’t that be ‘joy’ with a lowercase ‘j’?

No, Joy was the American poet, Joy Gresham, who struck up a correspondence with Lewis and then came to Oxford with her small son in tow to meet Lewis. Then she stayed. She was the opposite of the diffident, emotionally buttoned-up Lewis. Joy was bluntly American and had a warm heart and a sense of mischief. But maybe you are right, because she did surprise him with joy.

A happy ever after story, then? Hardly dramatic.

Ah, but there is a twist. Lewis, known as Jack, wasn’t just a children’s author; he was a devoted Christian, and his relationship with Joy forces him to confront his own philosophy that pain and suffering are God’s way of showing his love. “Pain”, he tells his students in a lecture, “is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” It’s not your typical West End play which begins with a theology lecture and ends with the audience sobbing.

How many hankies are required?

It’s a full three-hankie weepie. Maybe take a box of tissues. Unless, like Lewis at the start, your heart is completely frozen.

Hugh Bonneville and Liz White in the 2019 Chichester production of Shadowlands. Photo by Tristram Kenton.

Isn’t it just love story in tweeds with a dreaming spires setting?

It could easily be so in an unsubtle production, but it shouldn’t be. This play about the testing of faith and belief is a study of mortality and emotional commitment and is always thoughtful. It comes too, at its best, with a Rattigan-like ability to depict quiet unspoken passion, and there is plenty of wit too. Joy is particularly sparky, challenging a don who has rashly declared that men have intellect and women have souls by enquiring with barbed sweetness: “I need a little guidance. Are you being offensive or merely stupid?”

Wasn’t there a movie?

There was, with Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. It’s been seen twice in the West End too. First in 1989 with that master of diffidence, Nigel Hawthorne, with Jane Lapotaire as Joy, and then in 2007 with Charles Dance and Janie Dee. Bonneville should be exquisite casting as the buttoned-up Lewis.

Don’t say:

I was disappointed the theatre didn’t sell Turkish Delight.

Do say:

I spotted which character was based on Lewis’ chum, Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien.

Shadowlands is playing at the Aldwych Theatre from Fri 5 Feb to Sat 9 May 2026. Book tickets here.