Disney’s The Lion King will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. And the National Children’s Theatre will mark this by bringing a production of Disney’s The Lion King Jr to life in Gauteng.
The show has been specially adapted for young performers, and will be a new collaboration between National Children’s Theatre (NCT) and Disney Theatrical Group (DTG).
NCT will stage The Lion King Jr, Disney’s Junior production of the internationally celebrated musical. It will have a cast of 50 young people aged 13 years and under.
First performance in SA
This will be the first time the Junior production is performed in South Africa. It will be the culmination of NCT’s education initiative “Musical Theatre in Schools”. The production is specially created for use in schools.
Facilitators from NCT and DTG will work closely with five primary schools in Gauteng for three months.
Together they will deliver life skills, creative curriculum and offer training and inspiration to teachers. This is to ensure that the skills and ideas generated by the programme can be transferred to the school teams. And the benefits will be felt for years to come.
Towards September, a selection of pupils from each of the five schools will come together. The group will form a new youth theatre company at NCT.
They will rehearse and perform The Lion King Jr, which will premiere at the NCT campus in Parktown, Johannesburg. This will be in early November 2024.
The NCT’s young performers will learn a wide range of new theatrical skills. These include mask-making and puppetry, widening their exposure to the world of musical theatre.
Country at the heart of The Lion King
Nancy Shakerley, Education & Audience Engagement Manager for Disney Theatrical Group, explained the project. She said South Africa lies at the heart of The Lion King. The project is influenced by music, design and culture of South African communities.
“This is a wonderful and unique opportunity partner with National Children’s Theatre. To grow the reach and engagement of the arts amongst young people through this beloved story,” said Shakerley.
NCT Board Chair Moira Katz also expressed delight at the project.
“We are over the moon to be launching The Lion King Jr programme in association with Disney Theatrical Group. It fully aligns with NCT’s mission. Which is to use theatre arts and ‘edutainment’ programmes to help develop South Africa’s next generation of leaders,” she said.
