THE 2016 national tour of William Nicholson’s Shadowlands arrives in Malvern tonight.

The cast will be led by Stephen Boxer (Humans, The Iron Lady, Doctors) as CS Lewis, Denis Lill (The Royal, Only Fools and Horses, Rumpole of the Bailey) as Major WH Lewis 'Warnie' and Amanda Ryan (The Forsyte Saga, Shameless) as Joy Davidman.

They will be joined by Simon Shackleton as Professor Christopher Riley, Jeffrey Harmer as Rev ‘Harry’ Harrington, Ian Marr as Alan Gregg, Richard Holliday as Dr Maurice Oakley and Shannon Rewcroft as Douglas, with Holly Smith and Alistair Higgins playing multiple supporting roles.

Shadowlands tells the love story of CS Lewis, the Oxford don and author of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters, who had links with Malvern, and American poet Joy Davidman.

What begins as a formal meeting of two very different minds slowly develops into a feeling of connection and love.

Written by William Nicholson the play shows Lewis enjoying his quiet life with his brother Warnie, when it is suddenly disrupted by the outspoken, feisty Davidman, whose uninhibited behaviour offers a sharp contrast to the rigid sensibilities of the male-dominated university. Each provides the other with new ways of viewing the world, but Lewis’s Christian faith is tested when Joy is diagnosed with cancer.

Shadowlands won the Evening Standard Drama Award for Best Play in 1990 and Nicholson was nominated for a Tony Award when it transferred to Broadway. The film version, which starred Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger, won Best British Film at the 1994 BAFTAs and Nicholson was nominated for a Best Screenplay nomination.

This major revival is produced by Birdsong Productions, the people behind the critically-acclaimed and hugely successful touring productions of Birdsong and Flare Path, in association with Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.