Reviewed: The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre
Published on Thursday 9th June, 10.34am, Written by Jonathan Dudley
The Lion King has been running in the West End for 11 years, but has it outstayed its welcome at the Lyceum?
11 years is certainly a long time for any musical to run, especially when that musical is an adaptation of a Disney film. However, The Lion King isn’t any old Disney film and the stage adaptation remains one of the best family shows to be found anywhere in the world.
Even after its phenomenally long run and with some very stiff competition in town from the likes of Shrek The Musical and The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King seldom plays to anything other than a packed house. Even at a mid-week matinee, there weren’t many empty seats to be seen. School groups, families and tourists seemed to make up the bulk of the audience. However, a very illuminating interval chat with some fellow theatre-goers revealed that The Lion King is apparently also pretty popular with Christians.
It’s little wonder that The Lion King has won over so many people, it is a true visual spectacle. As soon as the show begins, it aims to dazzle and impress. During the opening number, Circle of Life, performers in wonderful rhino, elephant and antelope costumes made their way to the stage through the audience while others in a variety of fantastical savannah animal costumes cavorted on stage beneath the stern yet caring gaze of Shaun Escoffery’s Mufasa.
The costumes are, of course, a real highlight of The Lion King. They have Julie Taymor’s (the show’s director and costume designer) stamp all over them. Never too literal, they combine the essence of the animal, traditional African fabrics, tribal-style armour, puppetry and even what I suspect was a touch of animatronics to create characters that are both human and animal.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the young Simba and young Nala costumes. Only the similarity of the young lions’ armour to that of their parents and their subtle tails marked them out as lions. This subtlety is an invitation for the young audience to use a bit of imagination, as are the simple but evocative sets.
Alone, the costumes would be insufficient to create credible characters, but almost every motion the performers make seems to be choreographed, and well.
The feline characters pounce, leap, claw and snarl rather than simply sauntering around the stage. Their dance and fight scenes are choreographed in a strikingly similar manner, drawing on elements of ballet and martial arts to convey the grace and power of lions, a clever touch by Garath Fagan.
That’s what The Lion King is all about, little elements included to appeal to different groups. The kids adored Brown Lindiwe Mkhize’s Rafiki’s clownish capering and the adults were awed by her stunning voice. While the kids were distracted by stiltwalkers playing giraffes I was impressed by the thought and detail that went into the choreography.
The Lion King hasn’t done so well because it’s the prettiest show in the West End, or the cleverest, or even the best. It has done so well because it caters for so many different audiences and it caters for them all admirably. The story and songs of The Lion King are so well-known that even a tourist who doesn’t speak a word of English can enjoy the show, kids will always adore costumed antics on stage, adults with a soft spot for Disney can’t fail to be enchanted by the story and even the most hardened theatre-goer would surely be impressed by the show’s music and stunning, highly visual performance style.
The Lion King is, simply put, a show that anyone can enjoy if they leave their cynicism at the door. No matter how many years pass, it seems that London will never get bored of Timon and Pumbaa.
Ticket and hotel packages to see The Lion King are available from Show-and-Stay.co.uk from £131.
