Hugh Bonneville in Shadowlands [Johan Persson]

CHICHESTER Festival Theatre’s 2019 production of Shadowlands arrives at the Aldwych for a limited run, with Hugh Bonneville reprising his role as CS Lewis, the Oxford don and celebrated author of the Narnia series, known affectionately as Jack.

His bachelor life with his brother, Major WH Lewis – Warnie – (Jeff Rawle), is disrupted when American poet Joy Davidman (Maggie Siff) and her son Douglas (Ayrton English) visit for tea.

The brothers have a settled routine, debating with their academic circle in the evenings; women barely feature in their world.

Jack’s acquaintance with Joy, 17 years his junior, begins through letters, develops into friendship and slowly deepens into love. Tragically, he only recognises his feelings when Joy is diagnosed with cancer, and the pair share just three brief years together.

I wondered whether William Nicholson’s 1989 TV screenplay, which became a West End hit before being adapted into Richard Attenborough’s acclaimed film, might feel dated. But it retains its emotional resonance.

Bonneville is pitch perfect as Jack, and Siff brings a steely determination to Joy, unafraid to fire back at the barbed remarks of Jack’s peers. The supporting characters inject humour, but aside from Warnie, feel thinly drawn.

Rachel Kavanaugh gracefully navigates the tonal shift from Oxford’s cloistered world and its witty banter, to the late-blossoming affair, and the central love story remains undeniably poignant.

Peter McKintosh’s revolving set is a delight, full of hidden surprises – another world awaits beyond the dusty bookcases – and Kavanaugh’s production should continue to captivate West End theatregoers who favour traditional, narrative-driven theatre.

A genuine weepie.

Until May 9
shadowlandsplay.com