This summer, Stephenson Ardern-Sodje, who grew up in Shrewsbury, has been treading the boards in the West End’s Lyceum Theatre, playing Simba in Disney’s spectacular musical The Lion King. Here, he chats to What’s On about his unconventional journey into showbiz, and the influences from his home town that paved the way for his career in musical theatre...

Disney musical The Lion King recently celebrated 10,000 performances in London, 26 years after the Lyceum Theatre first brought the Serengeti to its stage.

This season, the production features a representative from Shropshire - Stephenson Ardern-Sodje, who grew up in Shrewsbury and appears in the lead role of Simba.

Stephenson’s tenure as the King of Pride Rock is coming to an end on Sunday 28 September - so this month offers the last chance to see a Salopian Simba in the West End. 

“I was doing a lot of am-dram at university, and in Shrewsbury growing up as well,” Stephenson says, in explaining how his career got off the ground. “That was my way in, but I never did anything professionally. I was singing in a choir, and somebody posted in the WhatsApp group that Hamilton was having open auditions. So I sent a tape in for Hamilton, and they sent me to drama school - I did a conversion into musical theatre. I did a masters at Royal Academy of Music, in musical theatre performance, and then I went into Hamilton.”

While Stephenson’s professional career began in the West End, his creative roots were nurtured growing up in Shrewsbury.

“Before the town’s Theatre Severn was even around, I went to the old Music Hall - that was where I went to see the panto, or see touring productions or stand-up comics. I was with Shrewsbury Amateur Operatic Society. My upbringing in Shrewsbury always felt very safe; you'd be out for the day - or out for the night, even - and feel like you could walk home. Similarly in terms of theatre, it was a very welcoming presence.”
Growing up, Stephenson remembers the people who had a hand in shaping the cultural landscape of his hometown.

“There's such a community element to those groups. I went to college at the same time as Ross Wigley, who runs Get Your Wigle On, which is an amateur operatics production company as well. Ross and I go way back. And then, on the other side, I was in a band - a sort of rock band - when I was a teenager, and we always rehearsed at The Hive - a community arts space. It felt at the time that there was such an abundance of opportunities to flex those creative muscles. A lot of those things were being run by people who did it for the love of doing it.”

While Shrewsbury might have provided the foundation for Stephenson’s career, The Lion King also holds a special place in his heart.

“It was the first West End show I saw. My uncle took me and my sister to see it - and I was about the same age as the young Simbas. It is just such a step up from the local shows that you'd see, or Eisteddfods that you go to on the border. Suddenly, to see this thing which is so fully realised, and seeing someone on stage that could have been me - the young Simba at that time, whoever that was - I really felt myself represented there.”

Stephenson first played Simba in The Lion King on tour, travelling with the epic production to regional theatres, before settling in for a run in the West End.

“The Lion King is such a huge production, and what's great about our touring version is that it’s exactly the same size; the same size and style of production. They haven't stripped it down, there's not fewer performers. But you are constrained by the dimensions of the space that you go to. Then you come to a theatre that essentially feels purpose-built… The tour is amazing, because you get to take what is essentially a West End-standard show to people who don't necessarily have access to it. Then, when you do the West End production, you go ‘Oh, yeah, this is the spiritual home of The Lion King!”

One of Stephenson’s favourite moments in the production involves Simba’s best friend and female counterpart, Nala.

“A moment that I love - it's a moment that I really think typifies the entire piece for me - is Shadowland, Nala's song. It's a new song that was written for the show. Julie Taymor, who was the director of the stage production, you can really tell that she is a woman and has put a different eye on it. Rafiki in the film is a man - or a male baboon - and is changed in this show to a female baboon, who actually represents these women in South Africa called Sangomas, who are kind of the spiritual leaders of their areas. It feels more culturally specific, but also gives a female voice to the character.

“Similarly, Nala's character is really beefed up in our production. She's co-heroine, and I think that really shows in this moment in Shadowland. For me, it’s the best of the Elton John music, the best of the tribal music, and it tells a singular story of needing to leave home - but the people that love you are there and are supporting you, back where you come from. I think that is just three-and-a-half minutes of absolutely beautiful storytelling.”

One of the things that has made The Lion King a global hit on stage is the costume and puppetry design. As adult Simba, Stephenson spends a lot of time interacting with Timon and Pumbaa - the comedy double-act meerkat and warthog.

“I think what's really interesting is that the puppetry is not designed to hide the puppeteer. That was part of Julie's initial vision. She had this idea for this thing called the double event, which is when you see both the puppet and the puppeteer. She trusted that the audience would be able to do almost a magic-eye picture, and see both. You get the lifelikeness of a human being, but you get the big shape, the animalisticness, of a puppet. On stage, you feel the best of both worlds.

“Interestingly, a lot of my interactions are with Timon and Pumbaa, who are obviously very puppety… As the performer, it's your job to bring them to life for the audience and to focus on them; to help them connect.” 

Although Stephenson’s stint in The Lion King is almost at an end, he hopes to return to the show in the future.

“I'm biding my time until I'm old enough for Mufasa! That's the trajectory. Scar works too hard, you know? He's one of the few characters that covers both acts. When you watch it, I don't think you necessarily notice - because Young Simba to Simba goes across, and Mufasa is in both acts in a spiritual form - but Scar is the same actor and character throughout, and is really putting a shift in. And that would be fun, to be evil - but he does get booed every night. I want people to like me at the end of the day!”

Stephenson Ardern-Sodje appears as Simba in Disney’s The Lion King - at London’s Lyceum Theatre - until Sunday 28 September