Hannah Millbank takes her two children to see the much talked about production
I had high expectations. And I’d talked about those high expectations a lot in the run up to this theatre trip. Everyone I know who has seen the stage production of Disney’s The Lion King, has raved about the visual spectacle that this show promises.
But, I’ll admit, as my two children climbed onto their booster seats at the Bristol Hippodrome, I had a last-minute flurry of nerves. Looking around the grand theatre with short-lived interest, they quickly began nagging me to crack open the bag of chocolate we’d just bought to snack on throughout the show.
My youngest, aged six, hadn’t experienced a production like this before. Especially an evening performance… on a school night. What if he got bored? What if he fell asleep? What if it was too much for him? What if I’d built up their expectations too much?
It probably goes without saying, I needn’t have worried.
As the show opened, both children’s heads snapped up as the distinctive African melody of Rafiki, the show’s peculiar Mandril monkey, rang out across the theatre. As drums added their tribal tones, I looked down at my boys’ faces – they were mesmerised, and I knew instantly that wasn’t going to change for the next couple of hours.
As animals started to appear around the theatre, pouring down the aisles, an elephant swinging its trunk side to side as it came, I realised they weren’t the only ones transfixed.
The opening scene is impressive. Costume designs are not just beautiful, but cleverly engineered, with outfits that transform actors into animals that are so convincing it’s hard not to feel like you’ve been transported straight to the plains of Africa. As rhinos, giraffes and impalas join with buzzards, leopards and wildebeest, the audience is invited to witness the celebration of new life, as Simba, the future lion king, is revealed to his future subjects from the top of Pride Rock.
Of course, most of us know the story, though I won’t ruin it for those who don’t. Suffice it to say that in the space of two and a half hours, the cast take us from festivities to mourning, fear to laughter through song, music and dance. While the set design is simple, it somehow manages to convey the sheer expanse of Africa’s dusty plains, the drama of its deep valleys and the lushness of its jungles.
The audience follows Simba and Nala as they grow from spirited young lion cubs exploring their territory into adults who eventually take on the baton from their parents to complete the circle of life. However, it won’t be a surprise to fans of the 1994 Disney animation to learn that it’s Timon, the witty meerkat, and his warthog sidekick Pumbaa, that steal the show. The pair’s rendition of Hakuna Matata was a personal highlight, with the whole audience bobbing along as the pair combine humour with a serious message about friendship and taking life as it comes.
As a new cub appears to mark the end of the performance, the audience erupted into applause. My two scrabbled onto their seats to peer over the standing ovation and wave at the smiling animal characters who appeared to be enjoying the moment as if it was opening night.
As we flagged down a taxi home, I asked myself whether it had lived up the hype? “10 out of 10,” said both boys when I asked their views. I guess that’s a pretty resounding yes!
The Lion King is at the Bristol Hippodrome until 1st July with shows on Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm and matinees each Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2.30pm.
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/disneys-the-lion-king/bristol-hippodrome/