The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

It all begins with a wardrobe. With a little magic and some imagination that's all you need to create new worlds and great adventures. This Christmas, C S Lewis' classic is lovingly brought to the stage by Edinburgh's Lyceum Theatre.

The Christmas show always aims to be a family crowd pleaser and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is no different. "The best Christmas stories have a thrilling storyline, vivid characters and take children on a fantastic adventure where good and evil is explored in a way they can identify and empathise with," says director Mark Thomson.

There are many memorable aspects to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. For Thomson, it's the characters that he loves, from the "deliciously frightening White Witch to the sweet faun Mr Tumnus, the mad Beaver family and the great Lion Aslan." And that's not forgetting the children Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan. "Every one of them discovers themselves through the trials of Narnia and each one is so distinct that every single kid will be able to identify with one of them or every Granny will say, 'Aye, that was me right enough.'"

Staging a timeless text has its challenges. "Whenever I'm working on an adaptation and someone says it's their favourite book I'm both excited and terrified about celebrating their book in a way that thrills them." Thomson and his cast and crew face the task of making the book work on the stage; this requires finding a way to recreate what imagination can do without limit, and what film can do with a much bigger budget. So how do you represent a journey onstage? "As theatre people we have to invent ways of giving a sense, a flavour of those journeys in a vivid visual and musical way - so we celebrate theatre. That's what makes this show magical; surprising visual storytelling that has the audience feeling involved with the story, with these amazing characters right in front of them."

Thomson sums up by saying "what is particularly satisfying about The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is that I genuinely think it is for the clichéd 'kids of all ages.'" With the promise of snow, ice and tempting Turkish Delight, it's high time to get in touch with the 12 year old within, or failing that treat your niece or nephew.