Hakuna Matata :)
Before someone cuts off my fingers because I have taken too
long to type this review on The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in London, here
it is. I have had very mixed feelings about writing this blog about my feelings
on the musical version of The Lion King because I have only ever heard very
good things about it; and although I enjoyed it and there are elements of it
that were wondrous it just did not match Wicked for me.
Now let me explain that statement. The Lion King on stage is
brilliant, beautiful and it is clear why it won awards for best costumes. It is
amazing to watch something you have seen in an animated format brought to life
on stage. It must be particularly hard on the actors because everyone (well
maybe only almost everyone) has some measuring stick to judge you against when
they sit to watch the musical. One of the first things you have to admire was
that they stayed true to the plot and script as much as was possible, but it
also meant that very little was a surprise when it came to the script except
the few changes that kept you awake.
There is no way to describe how the use of colour, stage,
costumes, entrances and exits and the theatre in general brought this musical
to life. The cast were throughout the theatre at various stages of the
production making the audience feel more involved in what was happening. At
some points in time you had no idea where to look because there was something happening
in the aisles, something on the stage or something on the level above you that you
needed to see.
To illustrate my point, another thing that made my
experience even more enthralling was that I went to a matinee show near the end
of the school term so you can imagine the number of children in the theatre. At
the very beginning of the production when the noise level was really high I
figured it would settle eventually but they seemed to be taking too long even
in my estimation so I looked back to see what was keeping them that buzzed and
there was this elephant meandering down the aisle. I felt like a child in my
own reaction; I believe my mouth dropped open and then I settled into a huge
smile. Throughout the production you could not stop admiring how the cast
embodied the animals they were representing, they were lithe, accurate (is that
the right word?), just beautiful. You cannot fault the production when it comes
to this; it was just amazing. It takes talent and creativity to figure out what
the costumes would look like and how they would be moved in the first place,
but it also took talent, creativity and style just to make the use of them so
believable and captivating.
Similar to the costumes was the stage; the stampede scene
was brilliant, how they did that on stage was just remarkable. The stage’s
rises and falls, movement and flexibility for the various elements that they
had to portray rose to the challenge and in some cases exceeded your
expectations for what could be done with stage. It is important at this point
to remind my readers that I am still a baby in the musical world so my feelings
could be influenced by the novelty of the whole thing for me.
However, the singing and music although very good just did
not touch Wicked’s for me, and you would imagine as a singer that that
particular element would be more important to me. That being said, for me, Rafiki
was the highlight of the show when it came to this aspect of the production,
with her powerful voice and commanding presence; her character and her singing
were excellent!!!
Also of note for me were the drums, African dance and those
little elements that reminded me of home which not only added to the
authenticity of the production but made me feel happy. It was also great to see
cast members from not only Barbados but Jamaica and St. Vincent, woohoo!!!!
Another great experience under my belt! Another reason to
smile! Another dream realised!!
