Disney's The Lion King is set to roar back into Edinburgh
The Lion King returns to the Edinburgh Playhouse in December 2019 ' the only Scottish dates on the tour of the UK and Ireland. (Photo: Deen van Meer)
Kevin McRoberts
The award-winning musical The Lion King will return to the Edinburgh Playhouse in December 2019 – the only Scottish dates on the second UK and Ireland tour.
Tickets will go on sale next month, but fans can now sign up for priority access at www.thelionking.co.uk
The tour coincides with The Lion King celebrating 20 years at London's Lyceum Theatre. Since the UK premiere in London on October 19, 1999, The Lion King has entertained over 15 million theatregoers and remains the West End's best-selling stage production and the sixth longest-running West End musical of all time.
Colin Marr, theatre director at the Edinburgh Playhouse, said: "We are incredibly excited to have Disney's The Lion King return to the Playhouse.
"I saw it for the first time in London recently and was blown away by the size and scale of the production.
"It's an incredibly exciting show – a great spectacle but with brilliant humour too. I can't wait to see it on our stage.
"The previous visit had a huge impact on the city attracting hundreds and thousands of visitors and generating millions of pounds for the local economy.
"As the only Scottish venue, we are looking forward to welcoming audiences of all ages from Edinburgh, the rest of Scotland and internationally."
The first tour of The Lion King broke box office records at the Edinburgh Playhouse with a 15 week sell-out season playing to more than 325,000 people.
With a cast of over 50 actors, singers and dancers, the story of The Lion King is brought to life using masks, puppets and striking costumes to tell the story of young Simba's epic adventures as he struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and becoming king.
The stunning simplicity of The Lion King is the work of a team of designers which drew on diverse cultural influences to recreate the rich colours and vast expanses of the African savanna in this daring and inspiring reinvention of one of the most successful animated films of all time.