The presenters and the full schedule have been confirmed for this year’s West End Live as London’s Trafalgar Square prepares to once again be transformed into the ultimate open-air theatre on 20 and 21 June.
Tag Archives | The Lion King
West End Live 2026 – first programme details announced
The first details of the 50-plus performances from some of London’s biggest shows lined up for next month’s West End Live have been revealed.
Disney’s The Lion King to welcome new Simba and Nala
Posi Morakinyo and Asha Parker-Wallace will take over the roles of Simba and Nala in Disney’s The Lion King in the West End in May.
Transmission date for National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals 2026
The BBC has confirmed the recording of the fifth instalment of the popular National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 28 March at 7.45pm.
Celebrate London Theatre Week with London Box Office
Musical Theatre Review readers, we have some exciting news for you. We have teamed up with LondonBoxOffice.co.uk to tell you all about London Theatre Week which is back and bigger than ever.
Black British Theatre Awards 2025 winners announced
Shanay Holmes, Beverley Knight and Jay Perry were among the winners at the 2025 Black British Theatre Awards (BBTAs).
London Theatre Week with London Box Office is back and it’s bigger than ever
Musical Theatre Review readers! The summer holidays may be coming to an end, but have no fear, we have some exciting news for you. We have teamed up with LondonBoxOffice.co.uk to tell you all about London Theatre Week which is back and bigger than ever.
Black British Theatre Awards nominees – Tina: The Tina Turner Musical leads the way
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical leads the way in the nominations for the Black British Theatre Awards (BBTAs). The hit West End show which is currently in its fifth year at the Aldwych Theatre tops the list of nominees for the fifth annual awards with five nominations. Tina’s closest musical theatre rival on the shortlist is Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge Theatre with a total of three nominations.
Open auditions for Disney’s London production of The Lion King
Disney’s award-winning The Lion King is holding open auditions across the UK in a quest for talented singers and dancers to join the West End company in the future.
Casting update – West End, regional and touring theatre, plus London concerts too
Sometimes there are so many exciting press releases arriving in the Musical Theatre Review email inbox, that it’s hard to keep up, so we asked our news editor Angela Thomas if she could round up all the very latest casting news related to West End, regional and touring productions (and even a few London concerts […]
The Lion King – Birmingham Hippodrome and Touring
The Lion King continues at the Birmingham Hippodrome until 16 September 2023 before moving on to Dublin where it runs until 11 November 2023. Further tour dates are expected to be announced.
Lion King West End to welcome new Simba and Nala
Owen Chaponda and Merryl Ansah will step into the iconic roles of Simba and Nala in the award-winning West End production of Disney’s The Lion King this spring.
Musicals Mash-Up December 2022
Welcome to Musicals Mash Up in which we catch up with lots of the week’s stories that haven’t yet appeared on the Musical Theatre Review pages. News editor Angela Thomas reports.
Summer’s Something Magical in Covent Garden Disney experience launches
Disney fans are getting the chance to get closer to their favourite shows once again with the launch of this year’s Something Magical in Covent Garden campaign. A partnership between Covent Garden and Disney on Stage the Summer Pop-Up Experiences will bring the magic of Disney musicals into the heart of Covent Garden up to […]
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lin-Manuel Miranda to join the Platinum Party At The Palace
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lin-Manuel Miranda will both make special appearances at the star-studded Platinum Party At The Palace event on 4 June 2022. The two musical theatre-makers will appear in a section of the spectacular show curated by Lloyd Webber, and entitled 70 Years of Pop Music and Musicals, which will also include performances […]
The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals – A0 Arena, Manchester
The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals at A0 Arena, Manchester, broadcast on BBC1 and BBC Radio 2, also available via BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Close your eyes, listen and you would swear it was Tina Turner belting out ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’, ‘Simply […]
First look at Disney’s new Simba plus The Lion King tour cast unveiled
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 […]
Covent Garden to host third Disney Pop-Up Experience
Disney fans will once again get the chance to get closer than ever before to their favourite shows when the film studios’ theatrical arm opens its Summer Pop-Up Experience in the heart of London’s Covent Garden later this month. Located in the historic Carriage Hall on Floral Street, the third Disney on Stage Summer Pop-Up […]
New cast members join The Lion King London company ahead of summer reopening
The West End production of Disney’s The Lion King will welcome 14 new members to its cast of over 50 actors, singers and dancers when the doors at its London home, the Lyceum Theatre, reopen this summer. Due to reopen from 29 July, the multi-award-winning production which celebrated two decades in the West End in […]
Broadway reopening set for September 2021
Broadway is finally – and definitely – coming back. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that the ban on theatrical performance in effect for over a year will be lifted on 14 September 2021. Selling of advance tickets will begin immediately. The shutdown, mandated in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, began on 12 […]
Disney’s The Lion King is set for a West End return in July 2021
Disney’s The Lion King will reopen in the West End on 29 July 2021, returning to the Lyceum Theatre, its London home for more than two decades, where the production has been seen by over 16 million people. Since the premiere of Julie Taymor’s internationally celebrated stage adaptation on Broadway in 1997, The Lion King […]
High demand for The Show Must Go On Live! At The Palace Theatre leads to additional dates
Two extra dates have been added to The Show Must Go On! Live At The Palace Theatre concert series in response to high public demand. After selling out the initial four star-packed special performances at London’s Palace Theatre, the team behind the successful lockdown-launched Theatre Support Fund + will now move their fundraising efforts onstage for […]
More unique theatre content from Official London Theatre and Sky VIP
The Society of London Theatre’s Official London Theatre channel has announced a new partnership with Sky VIP to create more exclusive theatre content while theatres remain dark. Casts from some of the West End’s biggest shows will feature in a series of eight newly commissioned 30-minute videos which will be initially available for Sky VIPs […]
West End stars to feature in online concert Citizens of Song
Cast members from hit shows The Lion King, Les Misérables and We Will Rock You will be among over 20 stars who feature in a musical-theatre themed online concert next month. The latest offering from Citizens of Song – Music Together From Afar, a non-profit organisation founded by singer Rebecca Winckworth, will stream live on […]
New Theatre Support Fund creates fundraising T-shirt
The producers of 16 of the biggest musicals in the West End have given their blessing to a new T-shirt aimed at raising funds for those in the industry hardest hit by the current crisis. Featuring a design that uses the distinctive branding of some of the world’s most famous shows, the T-shirts are the […]
Tributes flow in for popular performer Nolan Frederick
Graham Norton and Miriam Margolyes are among the many friends and theatre colleagues who have taken to social media to post heartfelt tributes to Nolan Frederick following the announcement of the actor’s death. A hugely popular performer, Nolan Frederick’s extensive musical theatre credits included Cats, Ragtime, Show Boat, Kiss Me, Kate, Bat Boy, The Pajama […]
A History of Shakespeare in Musical Theatre
Ian Bowkett writes: The history of theatre is musical. Bronze Age lyric poets sang to a lyre. Ancient African ritual storytelling was inseparable from its music and dance. Classical Athenian theatre was backed by a chorus. Even by Shakespeare’s day, it was unusual for plays to not include at least one song. The Bard himself […]
Disney releases free musical theatre resources
Disney Theatrical Productions is the latest major organisation to offer free resources to families trying to find ways to keep children occupied during the current lockdown. Downloadable creative activities are now available for some of Disney’s most popular stage musicals including The Lion King and Frozen with more to be made available in due course. […]
Nick Afoa to join The Lion King tour
The West End’s current Simba, Nick Afoa will join the second UK and Ireland tour of Disney’s The Lion King from 30 April 2020. After making his stage debut in the Australian production of the hit show in 2013, the New Zealand-born former All Blacks rugby star will follow his three-year run in London by […]
Disney to host second summer pop-up in London
Disney fans will get the chance to get closer than ever before to their favourite shows when the film studios’ theatrical arm opens its second Summer Pop-Up in the heart of London’s Covent Garden later this month. Located at 21 Long Acre, this year’s Disney in the West End Summer Pop-Up will feature the eagerly-anticipated […]
The Lion King to embark on second UK and Ireland tour as West End production celebrates 20th anniversary
Disney’s multi-award-winning musical The Lion King will head out on its second UK and Ireland tour later this year just weeks before the hit show celebrates its 20th anniversary at London’s Lyceum Theatre. Presented by the Walt Disney Company UK and Ireland, the new touring production will open in Bristol in September before moving on […]
Aladdin and The Lion King join forces for Disney summer event
Disney musical fans will get the chance to get closer than ever before to their favourite shows when a summer ‘Pop-Up’ opens in the heart of London’s Covent Garden later this month. Located at 25 Long Acre, the Aladdin and The Lion King Summer Experience will open every day from Tuesday 31 July until Sunday […]
West End Live 2018 show line-up announced
Over 25 shows and many of musical theatres biggest stars will feature in this year’s West End LIVE event when it returns to London’s iconic Trafalgar Square next month. Shows as varied as The Lion King, Wicked, Bat Out of Hell The Musical and Kinky Boots will return to appear in the main stage line-up […]
Mousetrap Theatre Projects marks 21 years with special event
Christopher Biggins and Harriet Thorpe will host a star-studded charity gala celebrating the 21st anniversary of Mousetrap Theatre Projects next month. The special event at the Prince of Wales Theatre on Sunday 18 March, will feature performances from guest stars including: David Suchet, Patricia Hodge, Michael Xavier, Samantha Spiro, Beau Dermott, Tyrone Huntley and Rachel […]
Beyoncé to play Nala in live action The Lion King movie
Beyoncé is the latest big name to join the cast of Jon Favreau’s live action movie version of Disney’s The Lion King. The pop princess will take on the role of Nala opposite Donald Glover (soon to be seen in Ron Howard’s Star Wars spin-off movie Solo: A Star Wars Story) who will play Simba in […]
The Lion King – new cast members join pack
Eleven new cast members have joined the award-winning West End production of Disney’s The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. Now in its 18th year in the capital, the show’s new principal line-up includes Janique Charles, the Trinidad and Tobago-born actress who moved to London to join the UK touring cast of the show in 2013. […]
Disney’s Aladdin hosts its first autism-friendly performance
The West End production of Disney’s Aladdin has announced its first dedicated autism-friendly performance on Tuesday 29 August. With tickets already sold out for a similar performance of the award-winning West End production of Disney’s The Lion King on Sunday 4 June 2017, demand is expected to be high for Aladdin’s first autism-friendly show at London’s […]
The Lion King – autism-friendly performance set for June 2017
A dedicated autism-friendly performance of the award-winning West End production of Disney’s The Lion King will be held on Sunday 4 June 2017. Following on from the success of previous ‘relaxed performances’, the production will be re-shaped to make the smash hit show more accessible for those affected by autism. Working closely with the National […]
Line-up for West End LIVE 2016 revealed
Over 25 shows and a number of musical theatre’s most popular stars will feature in this year’s West End LIVE event in London’s iconic Trafalgar Square. Shows as varied as Disney’s The Lion King and Kinky Boots are in the main stage line-up with stars including Samantha Barks, Matt Cardle, Tom Chambers, Kerry Ellis, Beverley Knight, Pixie Lott and […]
The Lion King – rugby player turned stage actor Nicholas Afoa joins London cast
Former international rugby player turned stage star Nicholas Afoa will join the award-winning West End production of Disney’s The Lion King later this month. The New Zealander whose promising playing career with the All Blacks was cut short by injury, began his new career as a theatre performer when he beat 400 other hopefuls to […]
West End production of The Lion King hold opens auditions
The award-winning West End production of Disney’s The Lion King will be holding a series of open auditions in Birmingham, Manchester and London. Currently celebrating 16 successful years at London’s Lyceum Theatre, the show’s casting team is searching for male and female singers with strong soulful or gospel style voices and the ability to dance well […]
The Lion King hosts third autism-friendly performance
Following the success of dedicated autism-friendly performances in 2013 and 2014, a third dedicated performance of Disney’s The Lion King has been announced for Sunday 30 August 2015 at 1:30pm. Tickets are now on sale. The Lion King staged the West End’s first-ever dedicated autism-friendly performance in April 2013. Working closely with the National Autistic Society, the UK’s […]
The Lion King celebrates its 15th anniversary at Lyceum
On Sunday 19 October Disney’s The Lion King will celebrate its 15th anniversary at London’s Lyceum Theatre. The award-winning musical has entertained more than 12 million theatregoers and remains the West End’s best-selling stage production. It also recently became the sixth longest-running West End musical of all time. To celebrate this milestone and to thank Londoners […]
West End LIVE celebrates tenth anniversary
West End LIVE in association with MasterCard takes place in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 June 2014. Now in its tenth year, this annual event – the largest event of its type in the world – is organised by Westminster City Council and the Society of London Theatre and offers free family […]
The Lion King – the autism-friendly way
An autism-friendly matinee performance of The Lion King took place at the Lyceum Theatre, London on Sunday 4 May, 2014. I saw my first West End musical when I was ten years old (Oklahoma! at the Palace Theatre), and I am fortunate enough to have seen many, many more since. So why, on the morning […]
The Lion King – second autism-friendly performance
Following the success of The Lion King’s first dedicated autism-friendly performance in April last year, Disney’s The Lion King is set to present a second such performance on Sunday 4 May 2014 at 1:30pm. Working closely with the National Autistic Society, the UK’s leading charity for people with autism and their families, and following a successful […]
