Disney’s much-loved musical The Lion King celebrated a major West End milestone at the weekend.
Saturday 19 October 2024 saw the show reach its 25th birthday, having entertained over 19 million people during the past 25 years at the West End’s Lyceum Theatre.
To mark the occasion, a special gala performance of The Lion King took place yesterday, Sunday 20 October 2024, at London’s Lyceum Theatre.
Check out photos of the celebrity guests invited to the gala – including the show’s director Julie Taymor, plus Tom Allen, Liz Carr, Vittorio Angelone, Adam Pearson, Sophie Duker, Strictly’s Jowita Przystał and Nikita Kuzmin, Mawaan Rizwan, Emma Barnett, Deborah Frances-White, Nick Mohammed, Chris MacCausland, Sarah Hadland, and Josette Bushell Mingo OBE – the original Rafiki in the 1999 West End production.
Photos: The Lion King 25th birthday – Celebrity guests
The special performance of The Lion King at the 25th anniversary gala included five Rafiki’s from across Europe coming together for a special and rousing performance of Circle of Life, including the show’s current Rafiki, Thenjiwe Nofemele, representing productions of the musicals past and present from across Europe.
Photos & Video: The Lion King – 25th anniversary
The Lion King is based on Disney’s 1994 animation film, and first opened on 8 July 1997 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, before officially opening on Broadway, at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York, on 13 November 1997. The show went on to win six Tony Awards including best director and best costume design.
The Lion King then opened in London on 19 October 1999 at the Lyceum Theatre, where the show has played ever since.
In the build up the 25th anniversary celebrations, the show took a break from 9 to 18 September 2024 to have a makeover! The Lion King had a completely new stage floor fitted, with lighting and automation system upgrades, prop refurbishments, and a Front of House refresh for the Lyceum Theatre.
The show is set on the Serengeti plains of Africa, and brings together humans and puppets to create a magical world centred on a young lion cub called Simba, as he navigates the challenges of growing up, reclaiming his rightful place as king after the death of his father, Mufasa, and overcoming his villainous uncle Scar.
Songs featured in the musical are by Elton John and Tim Rice, with additional music by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor and Hans Zimmer
The Lion King is directed by Julie Taymor, adapted for the stage by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, and has mask and puppet design by Michael Curry with Julie Taymor, sound design by Steve Canyon, hair and makeup design by Michael Ward, choreography by John Stefaniuk, musical supervisor Clement Ishmael and production supervisor Doc Zorthian.
The current cast of the show includes George Asprey as Scar and Shaun Escoffery as Mufasa, with both actors appearing in the show for the last 16 years. The cast also includes Thenjiwe Thendiva Nofemele as Rafiki, Gary Jordan as Zazu, Alan McHale as Timon, Mark Roper as Pumbaa, Owen Chaponda as Simba, Merryl Ansah as Nala, Meloné M’kenzy as Shenzi, Jorell Coiffic-Kamall as Banzai, and Mark Tatham as Ed.
The Lion King’s director Julie Taymor
Talking recently to the BBC in a wide-ranging interview about the show, director Julie Taymor said that her ambition for The Lion King was, “to do what theatre does best. Film hides the strings: we know it’s fake, but we’re pretending that it’s really there – that the Titanic is really on the ocean, that it’s really sinking. Whereas in the theatre, we will enjoy seeing a little puppet of a boat, and a big ocean of silk… this is the power of theatre. The audience is not played down to – they’re brought into the game.”
From the beginning, the executives at Disney, including head of Theatrical Productions Thomas Schumacher, gave Taymor free reign. “They didn’t actually have a very strong idea at all about how to do this, which was quite great – it left the door wide open.”
When The Lion King first opened, it had an immediate and incredible reaction from audiences, a reaction that continues to this day. “In the first performance, people were screaming when the animals came down the aisle – we didn’t expect that. We were so overwhelmed by the audience reaction, we just started crying” Taymor said.
The Lion King free exhibition at Outernet
A free exhibition multi-media exhibition celebrating Disney’s The Lion King also ran at Outernet on Charing Cross Road last weekend.
The immersive experience was directed by Hannah Lau-Walker and produced by BAFTA-winners Nexus Studios. The giant Outernet screens at their The Now Building bring the show to life using stunning animation, and highlighting the behind-the-scenes world of the show including costume and puppet design.
At the heart of the experience is a family tree, inspired by Rafiki’s Baobab tree, with vibrant collages of behind-the-scenes imagery and motion graphics. There were also real-life costumes on display.
Disney’s The Lion King is now playing at the Lyceum Theatre in London, booking to 30 March 2025.
Book tickets to Disney’s The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre London
UPDATES: First published 19 October 2024; Updated 21 October 2024 with gala photos
Lyceum Theatre, London
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