The curtains lifted and the sun rose on the stage of Londons Lyceum Theatre as the iconic opening lines of the Circle of Life in Disneys The Lion King Nansi ingonyama bakithi baba reverberated through the theatre.
The thundering voice of Thenjiwe Nofemele, a South African actress who plays Rafiki, commanded silence and attention from the 2000 people seated in the cool theatre on a Sunday afternoon. The stage began to transform as performers convincingly dressed as animals glided across the platform. Each in their embellished costumes, face paint and movement mimicking the eagerness and curiosity of the wild.
A 4m-long and 3m-wide elephant carefully carried by four actors walked down the orchestra aisle, followed by giraffes carried on stilts and other antelope galloping onto the stage. A spectacle.
