Stephenson Ardern-Sodje will play Simba in Disney’s The Lion King UK and Ireland tour. Picture: Disney
Stephenson Ardern-Sodje is stepping into the role of Simba when the UK and Ireland tour of Disney’s The Lion King reopens in Dublin this December.
After making his stage debut in the original West End cast of Hamilton and featuring in the company for the recent Globe Theatre tour, the actor will play the central character alongside Nokwanda Khuzwayo as Nala, the role she previously played in Germany and Brazil.
Other changes to the touring cast include Ireland’s Alan Mchale (Rebel Song, The Other Palace) who returns to the production in the role of Timon with Cardiff-born newcomer Owain Rhys Davies (The Wizard of Oz, London Palladium) as Ed. They will join returning principals Matthew Forbes (War Horse, National Theatre) as Zazu, Jean-Luc Guizonne (Chicago, Mogador Theatre, Paris) as Mufasa, Richard Hurst (Sunny Afternoon, UK tour) as Scar, Rebecca Omogbehin (Network, National Theatre) as Shenzi, Thandazile Soni (The Lion King, Broadway/North American tour) as Rafiki, Carl Sanderson (Stephen Ward, Aldwych Theatre) as Pumbaa and Simon Trinder (Merry Wives The Musical, RSC) as Banzai.
The UK and Ireland tour cast also includes: Lwando Bam, Mamido Bomboko Souchu, Khanyisani Beato, Jorell Coiffic-Kamall, Rushand Chambers, Tau-En Chien, Elisa Chou, Tevin Daniel, Tim Driesen, Oraine Frater, Adebunmi Gabriel, Brian Gilligan, Daniel Griffith, Alicia Hayward, Zalika Henry, Caleaf Henson, Olivia Jones, Melvin Le Blanc, Jochebel Maccarthy, Zanele Mazibuko, Fallon Mondlane, Zanele Ndlovu, Buhle Nkomo, Craig Pedro, Joaquin Pedro Valdes, Connor Pelé Williams, Tara Price, Kyle Richardson, Cristiane Santos De Jesus, Lukin Simmonds, Sherry Tay, Francesca Thompson, Maria Yim and Bukiwe Zinganto.
Presented by the Walt Disney Company UK, the touring production of the landmark show will re-launch at Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre from 23 December 2021 until 4 February 2022. The production will then visit Bristol, Bradford, Cardiff, Southampton and Manchester with further cities to be added to the schedule at a later date.
With a cast of over 50 actors, singer and dancers, The Lion King broke attendance records when it first played venues across the UK and Ireland from 2012 until March 2015.
Julie Taymor’s internationally-celebrated stage adaptation of Disney’s much-loved animated film premiered on Broadway in 1997 and has now been seen by over 110 million people worldwide.
Performed in nine different languages (English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese), the show which has played over 100 cities in 20 countries on every continent except Antarctica, has achieved a worldwide gross that exceeds that of any film, Broadway show or other entertainment title in box office history.
After winning five Tony Awards for The Lion King on Broadway, the original creative team reunited in 1999 to re-create the show in London. Taymor and Michael Curry created hundreds of masks and puppets for the production which also features scenic design by Richard Hudson, lighting by Donald Holder, costume design by Taymor and choreography by Garth Fagan. The book was adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed the animated feature, and Irene Mecchi, who co-wrote the screenplay.
The original score from the animated film was expanded for the stage and now features 15 musical numbers. As well as writing completely new songs, South African composer Lebo M created an evocative blend of African rhythms and chorales, with additional material by Taymor and Mark Mancina. Elton John and Tim Rice added three new numbers to the five that they wrote for the award-winning score of the animated film.
The Lion King is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions under the direction of Thomas Schumacher.
A CGI film version of The Lion King, helmed by Jon Favreau, the director of the 2016 live action version of the classic The Jungle Book, was released in July 2019.
Angela Thomas
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