The Lion King: A Roaring Success!

Culture & Events

After many months of hard work and long days rehearsing, this week the curtain went up on the middle school production ‘The Lion King’. With standing ovations and roof raising cheers every night, The Holroyd Community Theatre has been home to another roaring success.

This year the West End production of ‘The Lion King’ enters its 24th year, continuing to delight audiences with its timeless tale of love and jealousy, friendship and loyalty, all told through the voices of the animals of the African pridelands, accompanied by an award winning array of songs. But for those lucky enough to secure a seat in the HCT this week, the West End and the Pridelands came to Moreton Hall with a stunning production showcasing the talents of an 80 strong cast from Remove to Upper Four.

Opening the show with a film montage of the rehearsal stages gave the expectant audience an extraordinary insight into the way that through the rehearsal process the cast has metamorphosed from uniform clad pupils bumbling through first rehearsals to the anthropomorphised African animals of the Prideland, prowling, scampering, tumbling and galloping across the stage. Stunning professional costumes and masks, as well as enchanting puppets, including flying birds, showcased an an abundance of lions and lionesses, hyenas and wildebeest, gazelles, zebras, parrots, buzzards, elephants, giraffes and cheetahs, as well as a crazy meerkat and a flatulent warthog.

As Lion royalty, Jessica (U4) brought both regal dignity and warm parental affection to the role of Mufasa, and Darcy (L4) as Young Simba and Ffion (U4) as Simba, provided tear-jerking and heart-warming performances on Simba’s journey to right the wrongs done by Mufasa’s wicked and ambitious brother. As Scar, Bella (U4) was languidly arrogant, a wonderful contrast to Nina (L4), Hannah (L4) and Aerlie (U4) as the sycophantic spotted hyenas. Sienna (U4) and Seren (U4), captured the emotions of the wives and mothers as their lion cubs grew to adulthood. As Young Nala and Nala, T’Oluwade (L4) and Naana (U4) were first a feisty playmate and then a kickass companion to Simba as he finally faced his nemesis and his destiny. Matilda as the king’s major domo was an impressive performer and a skillful puppet-master, whilst as the soothsaying baboon, Rafiki, Pippa was a masterful stage presence. Based loosely on Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ the Lion King has its share of tragedy but as Shakespeare would expect there is comedy too and Florence (U4) and Emily (U4) were a perfectly cast duo as the meerkat Timon and the philosophical, flatulent warthog Pumbaa.

But with a talented cast of 80 for Producer and Director Michael Jenkins and Musical Director Amy Lott to work with, this was above all, a stunning ensemble production both on stage and behind the scenes, and in the company numbers, including ‘Circle of Life’, ‘I Just Can’t-Wait to Be King’, ‘They Live In You’ and ‘Shadowland’ both the stage and the aisles of the auditorium were alive with marching, flying, tumbling and strutting animals, all singing their hearts out and threatening to raise the roof with their wonderful harmonies.

As the audience rose to their feet at the end of the show, the Upper 4 mum next to me turned and said “Mr Jenkins has done it again” – how right she was! Bursting with creative talent, music, drama, teamwork and friendship, every element of the Moreton Magic came together in what was absolutely a roaring success!