Review Roundup: SHADOWLANDS Starring Hugh Bonneville and Maggie Siff At Aldwych Theatre

The West End production of William Nicholson’s Shadowlands, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, is now playing at London’s Aldwych Theatre until Saturday 9 May 2026.

Hugh Bonneville plays C.S. Lewis — the celebrated author of The Chronicles of Narnia — whose orderly academic life is upturned and transformed by the unexpected love of American poet Joy Davidman, played by Maggie Siff (Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, Billions).

They are joined by Jeff Rawle (Drop the Dead Donkey, Doc Martin, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as Major W.H. Lewis (Warnie), Tony Jayawardena (Nye at The National Theatre, Bend It Like Beckham The Musical, RSC’s The Tempest) as Rev. Harry Harrington, and Timothy Watson (The Archers, A Man For all Seasons, Murder on the Orient Express) as Professor Christopher Riley, with Rebecca Blackstone, Nigel Fyfe, Jemma Geanaus, Sharan Phull, Leighton Pugh, Fode Simbo, Ernest Stroud and Giles Taylor.

Ayrton English, Nathan Jago and Louis Wilkins alternate the role of Douglas (Joy Davidman’s 8-year-old son).

What begins as a meeting of minds becomes an uplifting and powerful journey of love and the fragile beauty of life.  Based on a true story, Shadowlands is written by William Nicholson and was adapted from his own original BAFTA Award-winning TV Movie. It soon became a West End show, the Evening Standard Award for Best Play, followed by a Broadway transfer. In 1993 the play was adapted into a major feature film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger, which subsequently won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film. See what the critics are saying...

Aliya Al-Hassan, BroadwayWorld: Bonneville is amiable, believable and gently formal as Lewis. His presence feels like a comfortable pair of shoes; familiar and unchallenging, but as the character submits to the waves of grief after Joy dies, Bonneville is touchingly bereft. Siff is great as Joy, arriving in a wave of energy that is a huge contrast to the staid and rather grey world of Oxford academia.

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: There are some scenes that penetrate, especially the exhilarating moment that Lewis and Joy declare their love for each other, circling around the other. The rapport between Lewis and his older brother (Jeff Rawle) with whom he lives, is amusing as well. But as a story of love and grief, it should have you in bits. Love found, so late, an emotionally remote man thawed by it, and then lost again, his love an open wound. It does not feel as eviscerating as it should.

Nick Curtis, Evening Standard: Kavanaugh wisely doesn’t try to revamp things. Her production, clad in shades of brown, black and grey, unfolds in measured fashion against Peter McKintosh’s set of lofty library shelves. Bonneville, who seems always to be putting on or taking off a raincoat or a dressing gown here, is a perfect fit for Nicholson’s avuncular, slightly pompous Lewis. Siff is similarly right for the beady-eyed, passionate Joy. Their relationship convinced but never quite moved me. This feels like a piece of heritage theatre, albeit one mounted with star power and skill.

Anya Ryan, London Theatre: Nodding to Narnia, Peter McKintosh's staging reveals a hidden, magical world from behind a bookcase. It suggests that beyond the shadows of life, there is something beautiful waiting. Even as doubt creeps in, infecting Lewis’s once-unwavering faith, it's an image that hangs in his every thought.

Lucy Boardman, Everything Theatre: Shadowlands examines love, loss, hope, and grief in a compelling and engaging way. It is well suited to the stage and enables Bonneville and Siff to give emotion-filled and detailed performances. The play allows the audience to contemplate marriage, divorce, religion, poetry, and philosophy, exploring the possibility of finding love when it is least expected and the belief that grief is a lasting manifestation of all the love we still have to give. A fantastic and powerful production!

Average Rating: 60.0%