The Lion King

Yesterday I was up in London to see The Lion King musical...  WHAT A SHOW! My favourite scene has to be the opening where all the puppets bring the African plains to life to the tune of Disney's classic the circle of life. I think my favourite puppets were the zebras just because the way they've captured their movement is so realistic, not that other puppets didn't capture the real animals movement, but the zebras really caught my eye! The whole theatre exploded into applause as the final puppets made their way on to the stage to complete the scene for an opening to rival the finales of most shows!

The production design was wonderfully exotic, and I love the way the actors are true to their cartoon characters in their intonation and tone of their voices. Rafiki is my favourite character in the Lion King just because you never know what he is going to do! In the stage version the actress has the most spectacular vocal range and the best parts of the songs to sing (in my opinion!)

The way the film has been adapted to utilise the spaces and strengths of a theatre I found really interesting (since I'm studying a module on adaption between stage, screen and novel!) and they have been so innovative and creative when designing the stampeded scene and communicating the disarray and poverty that Scar brought to the pride lands.

In short a wonderful show, and one to catch if you have the time (and the spare money cause those tickets prices are sky high!) if you might be planning a special trip to London!