'The Lion King' cast and crew on 25 years of magic

The Lion King premiered in the West End in October 1999 and 25 years later, the cast and backstage team speak to London Theatre Magazine about what makes the musical so magical.

Sitting down with the lead cast of The Lion King in the West End, one word came up in every conversation: timeless. This is how they describe visionary director and designer Julie Taymor’s production that has remained proudly on the London stage for 25 years this month, delighting and enthralling more than 19 million theatregoers with its powerful story of love, deception, family, and hope. “It’s a classic story, isn’t it?” says George Asprey, who plays the show’s villain Scar. “It’s Hamlet, it’s Richard III, it’s the prodigal son. And it’s Biblical and Shakespearean.”

Asprey’s tenure in the show is almost as remarkable as the production’s history in London. Both he and fellow cast member – and real-life best friend – Shaun Escoffery (who plays Mufasa) have been in The Lion King for 16 years, joining the production in the roles they play today. A question they are frequently asked is: how does it feel to do the same thing every night?

“We’re not doing the same thing,” states Asprey resolutely. “Every audience is different. Understudies come on, they’re different. They give us a new perspective. Also, we don’t have to think about the lines or the movement. We can literally be in the moment. And that’s so freeing as an actor – to know the role so well.” The hard work of cast members such as Asprey and Escoffery, as well as the crew’s attention to detail and Disney’s meticulous determination to ensure high standards across all global productions of The Lion King, ensure that this show operates like a well-oiled machine.

Escoffery adds that it has been a gift to develop personally within the show: “It’s wonderful to be a part of The Lion King legacy. It’s been a journey and a learning curve. I’ve definitely grown up here, not just on stage, but as a man.” Indeed, Asprey and Escoffery’s experiences have been so aligned that their wives even became pregnant at the same time. They also finish each other’s sentences, with Asprey saying: “We truly are brothers. Having that honesty and that constant accountability [chips in Escoffery] to each other, as well as the show, helps so much.”

This feeling of growing up in the musical is shared by Thenjiwe Thendiva Nofemele, who performed in The Lion King in her native South Africa, Germany, and Taipei before making her West End debut as Rafiki in 2021. She was only 19 when she became a swing in South Africa and 17 years later, the show continues to be a huge influence on her life.

“There’s love in the show, there is sibling rivalry, and you take those stories and you put them in your own life. I lost my dad and my brother, who I was very close to, and the show was one of the reasons why I stayed strong,” Nofemele says. “If I’m not on stage as Rafiki, I hear someone singing ‘He Lives in You’ and remember my father or my brother. The show has healed me so many times. I had a daughter while doing the show, and when I see the young Nalas, I think of my daughter.”

Nofemele says the production’s South African roots have always made her feel at home, even when she has been living abroad. Her languages – Sotho, Swahili, Zulu, Tswana, and Xhosa – are represented in the show’s lyrics, and there are many fellow South Africans working on the show worldwide. In particular, she proudly points out that Pearl Khwezi is the first South African woman playing the role of Nala on Broadway.

“I feel like my people and my ancestors are seen. I feel like we have a seat at the table. I feel like we are accepted, loved, and celebrated. It’s such a proud South African moment,” she says.

Owen Chaponda and Merryl Ansah, who play Simba and Nala and are originally from Malawi and Ghana respectively, echo the importance of representation in the musical.

“People see themselves represented on stage with such a multinational company,” Ansah explains. “People coming to the show can look on stage and say ‘that person looks like me’. I think that’s really inspiring.”

“I think the show is very healing for a lot of people,” Chaponda adds.

Despite being some of the younger members of the principal cast, both performers have already enjoyed their own “Circle of Life” moment with The Lion King, starting out in the ensemble cast pre-pandemic before returning as leads.

“When I left the show in 2019, having done it for two years, my mum didn’t want me to leave,” Chaponda jokes. “I was like, ‘No, Mom, I need to go and search the world, figure out who I am as an artist. And maybe if the stars align, I’ll come back.’ And the stars did align when I came back as Simba. And I think for her, she was like, ‘This was the story. This was the narrative. This was where it was always supposed to go.’”

The audition process for Chaponda and Ansah felt like sliding doors moments. Ansah believed she had missed the submission deadline and it was only after speaking to a friend who told her the role of Nala still wasn’t filled that she called her agent. Chaponda, meanwhile, was booked for another job when he was asked to fill in for his old role on The Lion King. When the booked job fell through, he returned to the production and the role of Simba became available two months later.

Ansah explains that she really values the opportunities she’s had to work in both the ensemble and principal casts.

“I feel like I had a better sense of the show as a whole when I was in the ensemble, for example, being a part of the ‘Circle of Life’ and coming down the aisle every day and having that connection with the audience,” she says. “Then stepping into the lead role was an absolute dream come true. If you had asked me as a kid what role I’d want to do, I’d always say Nala.”

The cast’s appreciation for their roles, the show, and each other is clear to see, but Asprey and Escoffery reveal there are two other people who need to be recognised for their contribution to the show. “I think we’d both like to thank our wives, because for 16 years they haven’t seen us in the evenings,” says Asprey. “Thank you for allowing us to do this for so long.”

The Backstage Team

It takes approximately 150 people to bring The Lion King to life at every performance, but did you know that two thirds of them work backstage? From technical assistants and carpenters, to dressers, designers, and electricians, there is an incredible array of talented individuals working behind the scenes. London Theatre Magazine caught up with four long-standing members of the team to find out more about their individual roles on the show.

Head of Stage: Andy Todd

“Working on The Lion King is more than a full-time job – it takes up a huge proportion of your life and no two days are the same.”

Andy Todd is one of only four remaining backstage staff to have been with The Lion King since its premiere in 1999. He remembers being shown clips from the Japanese production (which opened in 1998) before the West End show had been built and thinking that the transformation didn’t seem achievable. But over the next three weeks, it started to come together. “What was a building site became this show,” he says. As Head of Stage, Todd and his team of 20 are responsible for looking after the stage and scenery, as well as the system that allows the performers to fly during the show. If anything breaks during the performance, the show must (safely) go on. This can involve a member of his team putting on a harness and heading out on a platform over the stage with the show continuing below. His team has a varied skillset, that involves carpentry, metal work, painting, and sewing. “They can pretty much turn their hand to anything that’s required,” he says.

Company Manager: Patience Persson

“We have an open door policy, it doesn’t matter whether you’re cast or crew, anyone can come in at any time and have a chat.”

Patience Persson’s journey with The Lion King started in 2005 when she joined the production as an ensemble dancer and understudy for Sarabi. She stayed in the show for six years and returned just after the pandemic as Company Manager. She is responsible for looking after the company as a whole, from checking in on their well-being to scheduling holidays and ensuring they have cover if performers are unwell. She liaises between the general management team and the company and ensures international cast members are looked after when they relocate. Her biggest challenge is ensuring everyone feels valued. “If you’re an outsider looking in, theatre looks really glamorous, but people work long, unsociable hours and they get one day off a week. To make them feel that it’s all worthwhile, you have to acknowledge that everyone’s input is important,” she says.

Head of Make-Up and Hair: Sara Tyndall

“Performers use make-up as a mask. It gives you an extra layer of coverage to get 2,100 people to believe in you.”

Sara Tyndall has been in her role since the show opened in 1999. “I didn’t think I’d still be here 25 years later, but it’s such a fabulous show. It’s moved with the times with new products and new machinery. I enjoy teaching my skills to my team, but new people bring different ideas. It’s a two-way street.” Tyndall leads a team of six, including a deputy and four assistants. “We start an hour before the show goes up. It’s very, very busy with the principals, ensemble, and children. Then there’s maintenance throughout the show. There are a lot of quick changes, for which we have special brushes and stamps. The make-up is water-based, so it wipes off quickly.” Each team member makes up two principal characters and to keep their skills fresh, they rotate regularly. Her favourite make-up design is Rafiki’s. “It’s very vibrant and powerful with the red, yellow, and blue primary colours, especially as she’s a shaman character who opens the show.”

Interview by Julia Rank

Head of Masks and Puppets: Joe Beagley

“A huge part of what we do is making sure the show looks as fresh as it did the day it opened.”

After nearly 20 years with The Lion King, Joe Beagley has climbed his way from freelancing on the production during university to Head of Masks and Puppets. He and his team (a deputy and two assistants) are responsible for repairing and touching up any damaged masks or puppets, as well as creating new ones from scratch. It’s a lot to manage, particularly given every principal and understudy has their own puppet. There are, for example, four Zazu puppets in the theatre. “If you were to look up in our workshop, you’d see there’s a shelf full of Simbas, a shelf full of Nalas, and shelves that are full of Scar and Mufasa masks,” he says. While the advent of technology has allowed them to introduce 3D printing, all the finishes are done by hand. “We’d be doing a massive disservice to the 2,100 people who come and watch this show every day if we were to cut corners,” he says.

Book tickets for The Lion King on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: the cast of The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. (Photos by Matt Crockett)