New cast have joined the London production of Disney’s The Lion King this summer, including New Zealander Nicholas Afoa who has taken on the role of Simba at the Lyceum Theatre.
Afoa made his stage debut in the Australian production in 2013 and played Simba in the Sydney production of the musical between 2013 and 2016, performing more than 860 times. The opportunity to play the role in the West End brings Afoa to London for the first time, as he embarks on his second professional theatre engagement.
The Auckland-raised performer had a promising rugby career with the All Blacks until he was sidelined by injury. After recovering and dedicating himself to his theatre career, nearly a decade later the 30 year-old beat 400 other hopefuls to the role of Simba in the Australian production.
What caused your transition from rugby pitch to stage?
I suffered an ACL and miniscus tear in a rugby game when I was 23. My introduction to theatre wasn’t until years later as I spent a lot of time trying to rehab the knee and come back to rugby. I also spent time trying to start a band and focus on my solo music. I eventually accepted the fate that was the end of a rugby dream and focused on these artistic qualities; I feel so lucky to be where I am right now.
Did you undertake any formal training as a result?
My formal dance training really started once I had landed the role. Now being part of the show has become such a huge part of my life and I feel like I am training and improving my skills every day. It is great to be around so many talented performers and teachers in an environment where everyone is constantly learning.
Describe a day in your life.
I like to spend time with my wife, go to the gym, keep in touch with family back home and go to vocal classes or ballet classes to keep my body up to speed.
How important is your ranging and diverse world experience in your work today?
I wouldn’t be able to bring the same depth to the role if it wasn’t for my life experience over the last 10 years, the interactions I have had with people, the trials I have overcome and what I have learnt from overcoming them. I worked as a youth counsellor for four years, where I learnt so much about adolescent behaviour and the way young people (like Simba) view the world around them and perceive themselves – these are all things that helped me to bring Simba to life.
What’s the most rewarding thing about the performing arts?
The most rewarding thing is how, through your passion, you can also inspire and move others. That’s what drives me, especially if I’m feeling tired. The fact that somebody in that audience, young or old, is being positively affected by the show is the most rewarding thing.
Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I always say a little prayer moments before swinging on stage. Whenever I can I will watch young Simba and Mufasa in the first act. Their scene gives me an extra emotional boost that I carry through into the second act.
What is it like being part of The Lion King?
It’s very humbling. Every day I learn something new. I’m in an amazing show surrounded by talented, passionate people. I still consider myself very fortunate and never once take it for granted.
What were you most looking forward to about beginning your Lion King contract in London?
What I was looking forward to most was learning and experiencing new energies and actors, seeing how that would affect me as a performer and being able to see what contribution I could make. It was also a chance to experience life outside Australasia as I have never been this far away from home.
What is your advice to an aspiring dancer?
I see with the dancers I work with how dedicated every dancer is to maintaining their own standards. What dancers’ bodies go through is mind-blowing. It inspires me to keep bettering myself. My advice would be to keep working hard, but also give yourself time and space to heal when you need and to also take in some of the world around you. While it’s good to be driven we can get so set on our dreams that sometimes we lose touch with our surroundings. This is also where we learn the most about ourselves and in turn makes us better and rounded performers.
Liverpool is set to install the UK’s first revolving theatre, as part of plans to revitalise Liverpool’s Ten Streets dockland area into a creative hub for arts and technology organisations. The ‘stage-around theatre’, in which seats rotate to face different stages, will be the first of its kind in the UK, as part of ambitious plans for a new creative quarter that officials hope could create thousands of jobs in Liverpool.
The New Musical Development Collective, a new organisation to nurture emerging musical theatre artists, is being launched, partnering with Theatre Royal Stratford East. The organisation will focus on the development of British musicals and musical theatre artists, through supporting four new musical projects and eight artists over the course of a year. The group will therefore be in residence at Theatre Royal Stratford East for one year from March.
Northern Ballet recently announced a triple bill of works by late choreographer Kenneth MacMillan for this autumn, with further performances in spring next year. The programme will consist of MacMillan’s Las Hermanas, Gloria and Concerto, and will be performed in both Bradford and Leeds. This programme will mark the first time Northern Ballet has danced ballets by MacMillan, and additionally marks 25 years since the choreographer’s death, backstage at the Royal Opera House. 
Rosie Kay Dance Company recently premiered new work MK ULTRA, focusing on the generational gap in knowledge about mind control conspiracies within pop culture today. The work is therefore inspired by pop-culture conspiracy theory and the Illuminati, a shadowy elite cult that brainwashes child actors and singers, and controls mass opinion through puppet performers (who brainwash with music videos and mass entertainment vehicles). This sits on a hotbed of ‘Fake News’ and ‘Alternative Facts’ which often create headlines.
Theatre etiquette is a topic that springs up time and time again, albeit faster than the time it takes for your neighbour along the row to move from their seats to let you past to yours. This is just one instance in the theatre of behaviour that detracts from the theatrical experience for many audience members, where their enjoyment is tainted by the fact others cannot and will not behave accordingly.
The London department store Selfridges – identifiable by its prominent yellow branding – is set to launch an 100-seat theatre this summer, that will allow customers to watch a Shakespeare production being rehearsed and performed within the store. In what appears to be a first for the performing arts, the department store will dip into its artistic side in order to provide its shoppers and other theatrical audiences with some theatre in its Oxford Street store in London.