This is London October 2026 - Flipbook - Page 8
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Photos: Johan Persson
A SPECTACLE FAR BEYOND YOUR
IMAGINATION… THE LION KING
‘There is simply nothing else like it’ –
New York Times
Disney’s award-winning musical,
The Lion King, explodes with glorious
colours, stunning effects and enchanting
music. It follows the powerful story of
Simba, as he journeys from wide-eyed
cub to his destined role as King of the
Pridelands. Now in its 27th year at
London's Lyceum Theatre, director Julie
Taymor’s reimagining of Disney's beloved
film continues to redefine a generation’s
expectation of theatre.
The Lion King is famous for the use
of puppetry, with the animals even
entering the audience at some points in
the show. There are more than 232
puppets, including rod puppets, shadow
puppets and full-sized puppets. It took
director Julie Taymor and her team
37,000 hours to build the original
puppets and masks. There are 25 kinds of
animal species represented in the
production, with the longest animal being
the elephant at 4 metres long by 3.5 metres
high and 2.75 metres wide. The tallest
animals are the 5.5 metre giraffes in the
song ‘I Just Can’t Wait to be King’ and the
smallest animal in the show is the 13cm
trick mouse at the end of Scar’s cane.
Disney made theatrical history with
the opening of The Lion King in 1997,
which received six 1998 Tony Awards
including Best Musical and Best
Director, Julie Taymor, who became the
first woman in Broadway history to win
the award.
For tickets, visit the website at
www.thelionking.com or telephone the
Box Office on 0333 009 5399.
SPECULATIONS
The world premiere of Speculations,
a gripping new political thriller by
Torben Betts will open at the Marylebone
Theatre on 30 October. Directed by
multi-award-winning, legendary theatre
and film director Trevor Nunn,
Speculations stars Olivier Award-winner
Janie Dee as one of America’s most
celebrated journalists, Dorothy Kilgallen,
who sets out on a mission to discover
the truth behind three of the most
infamous deaths of the 20th century.
It is New York, 1965. Celebrated
journalist and television star Dorothy
Kilgallen is on the trail of the biggest
story of her career. Three years earlier,
Marilyn Monroe was found dead in Los
Angeles. A year after that President
Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.
Then his suspected killer, Lee Harvey
Oswald, was himself shot dead – live on
television.
Following a trail from Hollywood to
the White House, from the Kennedy
dynasty to the New Orleans underworld,
Dorothy begins to see connections
others have missed – connections
involving Robert Kennedy, Jack Ruby,
organised crime boss Carlos Marcello,
Marilyn Monroe, Oswald and JFK.
Trevor Nunn said: ‘For my entire
professional career, I have been
intrigued by contradictions concerning
the assassination of President Kennedy
and the death of Marilyn Monroe. Now,
excitingly, I have the opportunity to
investigate those shocking events by
directing a new play by Torben Betts
called Speculations. An important
American journalist, Dorothy Kilgallen,
became fascinated by those
contradictions and it is her speculations
(as played by Janie Dee) that we follow
in this gripping new play.’
Blending Hollywood glamour,
political intrigue and true-crime mystery,
Speculations plunges into the shadows
behind some of the twentieth century’s
most infamous deaths – and asks a
tantalising question: ‘how far would you
go for the truth?
SKATE AT SOMERSET HOUSE
This winter, Skate at Somerset House
with Virgin Atlantic Holidays returns for
one of London’s favourite festive
traditions.
T H I S I S L O N D O N M A G A Z I N E • T H I S I S L O N D O N O N L I N E • w w w. t i l . c o m • @ t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g
