The Walt Disney Company has announced that the award winning musical The Lion King will roar back into Bristol in February next year.

The show makes a triumphant return, having already played two sell out seasons at the Bristol Hippodrome. The cast of over 50 actors, singers and dancers are thrilled to return to the Hippodrome stage for

this strictly limited run which is set to excite new and returning audiences alike.

The story of The Lion King roars into life using spectacular masks, puppets, and costumes to tell the story of Simba's epic adventures, as he struggles with the responsibilities of

adulthood and becoming king. Having played in more than 100 cities in 20 countries on every continent except Antarctica, The Lion King’s worldwide gross exceeds that of any film, Broadway show or other entertainment title in box office history.

The landmark musical, which has now been seen by over 100 million people worldwide, last visited Bristol Hippodrome in 2019.

Julie Taymor’s internationally celebrated stage adaptation of The Lion King opened on Broadway in 1997 and 25 global productions in nine different languages have been created since then (English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese). The Lion King is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, under the direction of Thomas Schumacher.

The previous tour of The Lion King broke attendance records across the nation. Since the UK premiere in 1999, The Lion King has entertained more than 16 million theatregoers and is the sixth longest running West End musical of all time.

The stunning artistry of the production 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 savannah in this daring and inspiring reinvention of one of the most successful animated feature films of all time.

Julie Taymor, one of the world’s most innovative directors, brought a vast array of disciplines to The Lion King, including extensive experience staging epic theatre and opera productions,

exploring classic myths through ritualised puppetry, mask, and movement. The Lion King was the first musical Taymor directed in the commercial theatre and she made Broadway

history by becoming the first woman to win the Tony Award® for Best Director of a Musical.

The Broadway show’s full creative team, which won five Tony Awards® for its work on The Lion King, reunited in 1999 to recreate the show in London. Julie Taymor and Michael Curry

created hundreds of masks and puppets.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 0844 2410093 or visiting www.thelionking.co.uk or www.atgtickets.com