Two giants of British Literature CS Lewis (David Payne) and JRR Tolkien (David Robinson) make their debut at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival in two outstanding productions. An Evening with CS Lewis and Of Wardrobes & Rings (& Other Things) a play about CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien's last ever encounter.
Both shows, written by David Payne, are set in 1963 and are a feast for anyone who really wants to know what made these masters of fantasy tick; why they wrote what they did and how they dealt with their growing popularity. Each show will play alternate weeks at Greenside, Nicolson Square during the festival.
An Evening with CS Lewis (My Life's Journey) is based on the life and writings of CS Lewis. This heart-warming, humorous and inspiring solo show will bring audiences closer than ever to the author of The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe. In the show CS Lewis, played by David Payne, recalls the people and events that inspired his thought and shaped his life; his friendship with JRR Tolkien; why he nearly abandoned the Narnia Chronicles; touching and hilarious memories of the American woman who turned his life upside down and how he coped with her premature death from cancer.
An Evening with CS Lewis (My Life's Journey) 7-13, 15 & 22-27 Aug |18.30-19-30 | Greenside @ Nicolson Square
Of Wardrobes & Rings (& Other Things) is the tale of Lewis and Tolkien's Last Encounter. Now in the autumn of their lives, the two literary giants CS Lewis & JRR Tolkien come together at one of their favourite haunts, Oxford's Eagle & Child pub for what turns out to be the very last time.
While this encounter reveals some of the underlying issues that drove them apart in the latter years, it also reveals that, in coming together, those issues melt away revealing the deep affection that still remains between them. It also provides an intriguing insight as to why they became such great friends and the factors that made them such successful authors.
Among other things audiences will hear how they felt about overtures to turn their books into movies; why they wrote fantasy and, above all, how each was integral to the others success.
Of Wardrobes & Rings (& Other Things)| 16-20 Aug |(18.30) Greenside @ Nicolson Square
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