The Lion King is like no other show I have ever seen. Based on the Disney animation, The Lion King is set in Africa and tells the story of Simba the young lion cub with a very inquisitive mind.

Julie Taymor has done a fantastic job with bringing the cartoon to the stage with every animal being portrayed through a different style of puppet. With the use of shadow puppets, manual stick puppets and of course those which are just an extension of the actor, the animals of Africa are realistically brought to the stage. The stage show relates more to the story’s African heritage than the film, with a very definite drum beat throughout the show. Some of the new songs are not as catchy as the originals written by Elton John and Tim Rice, however they do fit into the show, and Rafiki the mandrill monkey, played by Gugwana Diamini, really managed to bring The Circle of Life to life.

My favourite characters have to be the three hyenas who were all a direct copy from the original film with fantastic long necks which bobbed dramatically as they laughed. When the chorus joined them as the hyena pack the mood and staging definitely became more grey, really evoking a change in mood under the realm of Scar.

One of the most spectacular moments has to be when Simba’s father Mufasa appears to him in the stars, as once again through puppetry we were treated to the image moving from disjointed pieces to one dominant face in the stars. Does The Lion King have spectacular costumes? Yes. Does it have catchy songs? Yes. Would I want to see it again? Probably not.

Still, this is a show worth seeing.

* Bradford Alhambra, until May 10. Call 01274 432000 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk to book tickets.

Katrina Knights