By Lucas Heap
Disney’s 1994 animated The Lion King has long been a family favourite to watch on a rainy day or a night in. And with the musical arriving right on our doorstep, we leapt (yep, you guessed it – like lions) at the opportunity to watch a performance at the Wales Millennium Centre.
Viewed by over 110 million people worldwide over its 20+ year theatre run, Disney’s The Lion King truly is one of the most innovative and magical pieces of theatre ever created. Director, Julie Taymor, became the first woman to win the Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical and the show itself has rightfully won countless other awards.
The first thing to note are the costumes. Beautiful and bright – and brilliant technical creations – the whole animal kingdom are shown off to the nth degree. From gigantic elephants, controlled by a number of the ensemble to magnificent giraffes brought to life by cast members balancing on a set of 4 stilts, you really feel like you’re transported to a make-believe magical African savanna as they walk amongst you in the stalls and balconies. Look up and you see birds circling in the air. Look around and you see zebra, buffalo, rhino and leopard walking the aisles, cruising and lumbering towards the stage accompanied by music from percussionists playing an array of African drums. Look forward and you see a scorching sunset emit a warm orange glow throughout the theatre. The scene is set instantly as “Circle of Life” is belted out by the cast and the brilliant Thandazile Soni as the mandrill Rafiki and our protagonist, Simba, is born.
Simba is a cub in Act 1, so children are cast to play the fearless hero. On our night, Joshua Khanyisa Smith was outstanding, nailing the cheekiness of the character. He had some fantastic scenes with the brilliant Richard Hurst who played Scar who owned the stage whenever he was on it and they worked off each other very well.
Young Simba also had a heartwarming scene with his father, Mufasa, where Mufasa momentarily removes his ferocious lion mask, symbolising how deep down he isn’t so scary after all and that Simba will learn how to be brave with time. This interaction between father and son translates from screen to stage nicely and makes the next tragic scene, that anyone who has seen the film before will know, all the more heartbreaking.
Another notable cast member is Matthew Forbes who plays the delightful hornbill Zazu. Forbes controls the puppet marvellously and makes Zazu come to life with subtle sarcastic looks out to audience and widens his eyes when threatened by Scar.
Forbes himself is fantastic to watch as well, and some of the funniest moments come when he switches from Zazu’s normal RP accent to a northern one that ‘states the obvious’, something that Scar gets repeatedly infuriated by.
Alan McHale and Carl Sanderson must also be praised for their portrayal of Timon and Pumbaa. They bounce off each other superbly.
In act 2, as Simba’s actor is replaced by Stephenson Ardern-Sodje the 3 have great chemistry on stage. Though it becomes clear, as Nala, Simba’s childhood; or rather- ‘cub-hood’ best friend is reintroduced, that Simba belongs with his lion family again.
In the finale, there is a great fight sequence as we see all of the characters animalistic physicality really kick in. Full of action (and humour as Timon dresses in drag in order to distract the hyenas) hearts race as we root for Simba to defeat the evil Scar as they fight on the cliff edge.
The show ends with a reprise of “Circle of Life” as Simba and Nala’s lion cub is presented to the pride.
Overall, yet again, Disney proves just how good stage renditions of their films actually are. The musical is spectacular to watch, both as an adult and a child and you will not be disappointed when you see The Lion King on stage. A roar of approval from us!
The show runs at WMC until 27 August 2022, book tickets here
You can watch a video trailer here