The show will resume performances by the start of Christmas, beginning a one-year tour with stop of some of the most prestigious British venues. Featuring songs by Elton John and Tim Rice and direction by Julie Taymor, the musical has become the highest grossing piece of entertainment in History, with 25 global productions in nine different languages.
Dawn breaks again on shadowland… As Christmas approaches and our imagination runs wild with all the gifts we’d love to be given (and probably won’t have), here comes a treat not that out of our reach for any of us (if we take matters into our own hands). These holidays, Disney’s blockbuster stage show The Lion King will be starting a new circle of life around Ireland and the UK. And while getting ready to put back on display its opulent parade of puppets and traditional masks and costumes, the production has just announced who will be stepping into the paws of Simba and his adventurous journey to become king.
After working behind the scenes at ITV’s Coronation Street and with Idris Elba’s production company, Green Door Pictures, Stephenson Ardern-Sodje’s career has taken a 180º degree turn, as he will now be reigning over the boards of some of the most prestigious British venues. Not a rookie in field of theatre (including major musicals), his previous stage credits include the first West End cast of Hamilton and currently the Globe Theatre 2021 tour. He will be joined by Jean-Luc Guizonne as Mufasa, Richard Hurst as Scar, Matthew Forbes as Zazu, Rebecca Omogbehin as Shenzi, Thandazile Soni as Rafiki, Carl Sanderson as Pumbaa, Simon Trinder as Banzai and Nokwanda Khuzwayo as Nala, who has previously played the role in Germany and Brazil. On the other hand, Ireland’s Alan Mchale will be returning in a new role as Timon while Cardiff born newcomer Owain Rhys Davies will be taking the role of Ed.
During the tour’s one-year course, the production will stop in venues such as the Bristol Hippodrome (17 Feb – 19 Mar 2022), Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre (24 March – 28 May 2022), Cardiff’s Wales Millenium Theatre (7 Jul – 27 Aug 2022), Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre (8 Sep – 15 Oct 2022) and Manchester’s Palace Theatre (27 Oct – 24 Dec 2022). With songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, additional numbers by Lebo M and incidental music by Hans Zimmer, The Lion King has become the highest-grossing musical in History. Directed by Julie Taymor, opened on Broadway in 1997 and 25 global productions in nine different languages have been created since then (English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese).
The Lion King tour will start performances at Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on December 23rd.Tickets can be purchased on the following link.
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