New cast announced for Disney's The Lion King in London's West End

Disney's hit musical announces new cast

The West End production of Disney's The Lion King has announced 11 new cast members who are joining the London company from today.

Janique Charles, Gary Jordan and Dominique Planter will take over the principal roles of 'Nala', 'Zazu' and 'Shenzi' respectively. They are joined by Lila Anderson, Owen Chaponda, Deborah Dada, Debôrah Godchaser, Brian James Leys, Nathan Louis-Fernand, Nonhlanhla Makthathini, Rutendo Mushonga, Luciano Santos Souza and Karlene Wray.

They join members of the current West End company which currently features George Asprey as Scar, Shaun Escoffery as Mufasa, Brown Lindiwe Mkhize as Rafiki, Richard Frame as Timon, Keith Bookman as Pumbaa, Nick Afoa as Simba, David Blake as Banzai and Mack McGee as Ed.

The London company of The Lion King includes performers from 11 countries around the world, and the new cast members come from The Philippines, Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Brazil and the UK.

Janique Charles makes her West End debut in a leading role. Born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago, Janique moved to London to join the UK touring cast of the show in 2013 and joined the ensemble of the London cast in 2016. Gary Jordan's West End credits include Grease (Victoria Palace), Anyone Can Whistle (Savoy), whilst Dominique Planter makes her West End debut in a leading role.

Now in its 18th year at London's Lyceum Theatre The Lion King has been seen by over 14 million theatregoers since its UK premiere on Tuesday 19th October 1999. It is currently the sixth longest-running West End musical of all time and is currently booking to 25th May 2018 for groups.

Based on the animated film of the same name, The Lion King features a score by Elton John and Tim Rice and is directed for the stage by Julie Taymor. The musical can currently be seen across the world in Hamburg, Madrid, Scheveningen (The Netherlands), Shanghai, Tokyo, Sapporo, Mexico City and across North America.

The Lion King tickets are currently on sale at the Lyceum Theatre to 3 December 2017.