I'm so thrilled to find that we can review theatre on CIAO (being new to ciao, I still haven't had a chance to have a good look around)...so I've taken the chance to share with you all my views on one of London's hottest shows at the moment...THE LION KING!
INTRO ~
As EVERYONE probably knows, Disney's THE LION KING started life as an animation film from 1994 - winning 2 oscars. You could be forgiven for thinking how on earth can they put this animation where the central characters are animals, on stage. Following Disney's broadway smash, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Julie Taymor (LION KING Director) and her team really pulled this one of the bag and has won countless awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical. . The theatricality involved in this production is immense. Do not, for one moment think you will be watching people dressed up as animals a la 'pantomine horse'...the audience are invited to take a leap of imagination on a journey through the African plains to Pride Rock and meet the mane (nothing like a good pun) characters.
WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT ~
Extremely quick run down of the plot...Simba is a cub and heir to the 'throne' of Pride Rock. His evil Uncle Scar wants to become King, so hatches a plot to kill Mufusa (Simba's fathers) and frame Simba as the murderer - causing him to exile Pride Rock and live the life of a vagabond Lion in the jungle where he meets the infamous duo, Timon and Pumbaa, who teach him
about the simplicities of Life and where Simba learns to face up to his past. As he grows into a young lion, and with help from certain friends, decides to return and face his past. The plot is basically the same as the Disney animation, except more attention has been paid to Simba's inner struggle and coming to terms of what he has (supposedly) done to his family.
SO, WHERE IS IT? ~
The show is on at the Lyceum, which is a beauitful theatre in itself and fully air-conditioned for added comfort. It has superb transport links as it is in the heart of London and a few minutes walk from Covent Garden tube station, on the Piccadilly line (which is the dark blue one, for all those non-tubey folk). Covent Garden in SURROUNDED by restaurants to make your evening or matinee extra special too.
The show is on 8 times a week, with matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays. There is also a Sunday performance on at 3pm. Tickets can cost anywhere between £12.50 (standing) to £47.50 (top price). One time with a spare Sunday on my hands in London, we walked pass the theatre and popped in on the off chance of getting standby tickets, only to get front row circle tickets AN HOUR BEFORE IT STARTED! These were cancellations, but you could be just as lucky - it wasn't lucky on my bank balance unfortunately as they weren't reduced in price.
The show lasts for approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes with a 20 minute interval.
WHAT ELSE SHOULD YOU KNOW? ~
Visually, this show is OUTSTANDING! The colours and shapes on stage will blow your mind, even if the nothing else interests you.
Before I saw this show for the first time, I thought, how the blinky blonky are they going to create such scenes as 'the stampede' and even the 'Circle of Life'... In my humble opinion, THE LION KING has THE best opening sequence I have ever seen on stage. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but I would recommend trying to get seats in the stalls for this, AND DO NOT BE LATE! I was truly moved and humbled by the imagination and vision of the show's creators! Anyhoo...enough of the pretentious transcendental guff...
WHAT ARE THE COSTUMES LIKE? ~
The Costumes and Puppetry were breathtakingly beautiful. They have taken elements from various cultures and theatrical devices, including huge life size puppets, mechanical cog/cam mechanisms, shadow puppets and Japanese bunraku puppets don't you know! There are moments when the audience is fully involved with the puppetry/action on stage, as 'elements' (gosh, this is so hard trying not to give anything away) come out to the audience. Some actors also have beautifully carved headpieces that can be raised and lowered, aiding the impression that they are cats (you'll see what I mean when you see it). Not only are the costumes beautiful but in some cases they help make up the set. As well as puppetry, we see acrobatics, awesome ritualistic/tribal dances, good acting and singing...the list goes on.
IS THE STORY ANY GOOD? ~
People have said that the plot isn't up to much, but don't let the arguably lacking plot ruin the show for you. The stage show does delve more into Simba's 'internal struggle' and his 'journey' as he faces up to his past. The plot is simple, so accessable to all. There is comedy from the unlikely duo Pumbaa and Timon (who are a warthog and meerkat respectively) and tragedy.
WHAT iS THE MUSIC LIKE? ~
For those of you that aren't familiar, the stage musical has some new songs added in (including music from the film, THE LION KING 2), aswell as songs using the instrumental score of the original film, with added lyrics. The songs are (in order):
1) Circle of Life 2) Grasslands Chant 3) Morning Report 4) Lioness Hunt 5) I Just Can't Wait to Be King 6) Chow Down 7) They Live in You 8) Be Prepared 9) Stampede 10) Rafiki Mourns 11) Hakuna Matata 12) One by One 13) Madness of King Scar 14) Shadowland 15) Lion Sleeps Tonight 16) Endless Night 17) Can You Feel the Love Tonight? 18) He Lives in You (Reprise) 19) Simba Confronts Scar [Instrumental] 20) King of Pride Rock/Circle of Life (Reprise)
Something I especially love about the stage show, is that it stays true to it's African origins. Rafiki (this version, unlike the film, is played by a woman, as an 'earth mother' figure) sometimes talks in African dialect that uses 'clicks' - I saw a documentary where one the actresses who played Rafiki, said it took her almost 1 month to learn 10 lines!!! The african chants, as orchestrated by Lebo M, sound beautiful and evoke a sense of the African landscape. You can see some of the musicians too in the boxes, with their huge African instuments. I know a few schools who have taken their children to see this show to introduce them to other cultures.
WHO WOULD IT APPEAL TO? ~
In my experience, the audience was a mixture of children and adults. However, I have seen this show 7 times now, and on the evening shows, the majority is adults, but the matinees are quite kiddie heavy - as one would expect really. I'm 100% confident that all ages can get something out of this show.
HMM, WHAT ELSE?? ~
The merchandise is beautiful, if some what over pricey. There are no cuddling Disney-esque toys - but beautiful 'stuffed' toys replecating the characters and costumes on stage. If you are a Disney fan, you will have a field day in the shop! If you aren't a Disney fan, you will hate it - duh!
TO SUM IT UP ~
If you can afford a ticket and want to see something special...a far cry away from shows such as Phantom, Les Mis, The Producers etc...then this show is for you.
Enjoy the visual feast awaiting you!
:)
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I would love to see this it sounds amazing! I tried to watch the movie with my two....cue floods of tears when Simba's Dad is killed by the stampede.....they're sensitive wee souls, just like their Mum. Oh well, back to Wallace & Gromit :-) Great review, Caroline xx
UKRushbrook 21.11.2006 23:16
Liked your title and the puns within the review! This is one show that I would certainly like to see at some point. Excellent
salem_witch 02.08.2006 18:09
pmsl @ your title. It sounds like a great show but I doubt I'd go and see it even though I love the film.
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Advantages: Stunning, ingenious costumes and visuals, classic musical numbers well-performed. Disadvantages: New songs and scenes are noticeably weaker.
Jul 25th, 2006
very helpful by (100%):
