Evacuated during the Second World War, Susan (Alice O’Connell), Peter (Kyle McPhail), Edmund (Peter McGovern), and Lucy (Hayley Ellenbrook) arrive at the home of kindly Professor Kirk (Michael O’Connor). The Professor is perhaps modelled on author C. S. Lewis himself, since several schoolgirls were billeted at Lewis’s Oxford home during the war. At first a touch scared by unfamiliar, nocturnal country sounds, the children soon decide to investigate a dusty old wardrobe in the professor’s house.

But the wardrobe isn’t backed by a worm-ridden piece of old hardboard; it leads to the land of Narnia, terrorised by the White Witch (Georgina White). She doesn’t hesitate to lure the sweet-loving Edmund with tempting offers of Turkish delight. The Witch faces opposition, however, as she sweeps around on her sledge, drawn by a downtrodden reindeer.

There’s chuckling Mr Tumnus (Adam Baxter — pictured with Hayley Ellenbrook), who admits that he’s struggling to escape from the Witch’s clutches. And there’s furry Aslan (Tony Jayawardena), a normally affable lion who lets out a mighty roar when roused. The full-blooded final fight between the opposing forces is quite something to behold — at the performance I saw, one small girl neighbour hid her face, while another jumped up and down with excitement.

All this is about as far from The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of The Dawn Treader, which is showing on local cinema screens, as it’s possible to imagine. In the intimate surroundings of the Royal, Northampton, the story is told without a digital special effect in sight. Instead director Dani Parr relies on good, old-fashioned stagecraft. This in-house production is greatly enhanced by a custom-built score from James Atherton, which ranges all the way from catchy rhythmic songs (did I catch a whiff of inspiration from Salad Days at one point?) to a dramatic underpinning of the fight scene.

Jess Curtis’s atmospheric set designs make full use of the Royal’s stage height to give a most effective contrast between the tall, threatening trees of Narnia-land and the warm glow of Tumnus’s tiny home.

The cast, which besides those mentioned above includes Matthew J. Henry and Louise Shuttleworth playing multiple roles, together with a vibrant team of local children, is uniformly excellent. This is a delightful — but never twee — piece of storytelling in delightful surroundings.

Continues until January 9. Tickets: www.royalandderngate.co.uk or 01604 624811.