Disney's The Lion King opens in Southampton

Set against the majesty of the Serengeti Plains and set to the evocative rhythms of Africa, Disney's award-winning musical is a unique theatrical experience telling the powerful story of Simba and his epic adventure to his destined role as King of the Pridelands.

Here we give you all the facts and figures behind a worldwide phenomenon.  

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• The Lion King has been playing at London’s Lyceum Theatre for over 22 years, making it the sixth longest-runningWest End musical of all time. Since the UK premiere in October 1999, The Lion King has been seen by over 16 million theatregoers and remains the bestselling musical in London.

● The Lion King has now been seen by more than 110 million people across six continents in 25 productions worldwide. It has played on every continent except Antarctica.

● In 1998, The Lion King won six Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical. Julie Taymor became the first woman to win the Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical.

● It takes around 150 people to put on the show each night – 50 on stage, 100 backstage.

● The Lion King is a uniquely international company from 17 countries 

● There are 232 puppets in the show, including rod, shadow and full-sized puppets. Some of these were inspired by Japanese Bunraku puppetry.

● There are 25 species of animals, birds, fish and insects represented in the show including 27 kite birds.

● It took 37,000 hours to build the original puppets and masks.

● The largest and longest animal in the show is the elephant. At 13 feet long and 9 feet wide, the puppet requires four actors to carefully walk her down the orchestra aisle.

● Five African languages are spoken or sung in the show, they are: Sotho, Swahili, Zulu, Tswana and Xhosa

● There are over 350 costumes in the show; including 22 hand-beaded corsets, each consisting of thousands of individually sewn beads.

The show is at Mayflower Theatre until Saturday October 15. 

Limited tickets remain. 

Visit mayflower.org.uk

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