A recent visit to London saw What's On freelancer Diane Parkes take in two Disney favourites and a couple of nearby galleries...

One of the wonders of theatre is its ability to transport you to other worlds and that was certainly the case with a double bill of Disney in London.

First we were in Ancient Greece watching the super strongman of legend Hercules rippling his biceps, fighting his way past giant beasts and descending into the Underworld.

And then it was over to the African Savannah for a stage filled with animals for the tale of Simba the lion who has to overcome his own demons as much as his foes to avenge his father and regain his place on the throne.

Hercules is the newest show to join the Disney fold in the UK, opening last summer at the beautiful Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Based on the 1997 animated film, it tells the tale of the mythical hero Hercules who, despite being the child of Zeus and Hera, has become largely human and mortal through the machinations of his evil uncle Hades. With Hades plotting to overthrow Zeus and take over Mount Olympus, Hercules looks to be the only one who can stand in his way.

Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, the production features music by Disney stalwart Alan Menken and lyrics by David Zippel, blending songs familiar from the movie with additional tracks including the rousing Zero to Hero, Gospel Truth and Great Bolts of Thunder to the more pensive To Be Human and Go the Distance.

At our performance, Felipe Bejarano stepped into the golden sandals of Hercules and gave us a hero who is both brain and brawn while Mae Ann Jorolan was the feisty Meg who isn’t quite sure she wants to trust this new ‘wonderboy’.

The show looks fabulous with huge pillars towering over the stage, monsters created through imaginative puppetry and a touch of theatrical magic to bring alive the Underworld. Add into this a non-stop array of stunning costumes and the show is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

Hercules is a light-hearted romp through Greek mythology with a host of colourful characters and the typical Disney balance of humour and charm with a few life lessons and inspiring messages for all ages. And although aimed firmly at a child audience there are also one or two slightly cheeky jokes for the adults.

This is the first time I’ve seen the show and it’s plenty of fun but what also stood out very clearly were the parallels between the stories of Hercules and The Lion King’s Simba. Both begin the story in a haze of blissful ignorance, see their worlds potentially ripped apart and then have to call on both their physical and inner strength to battle wrong and restore balance. Interestingly Evil Uncles seem to have taken over from Wicked Stepmothers as the villains as Hercules battles Uncle Hades and Simba takes on Uncle Scar.

There are some punchy women in both shows. In Hercules we have Meg and the Muses while Simba is given plenty of support from childhood friend turned love interest Nala, his gentle mother Sarabi and the baboon Rafiki whose cryptic messages force Simba to realise just who he is and can be.

Premiered on Broadway in 1997 and the West End two years later, The Lion King has been a runaway success. The multi award-winning show has been seen by more than 124 million audience members in more than 100 cities across all the continents bar Antarctica.

It has played London’s West End continuously for more than 25 years and toured the UK extensively, most recently coming to Birmingham’s Hippodrome Theatre in 2023 while retaining a production at London’s Lyceum Theatre.

Conceived and directed by Julie Taymor, the musical features a host of much-loved songs by Elton John and Tim Rice including I Just Can’t Wait to Be King, Circle of Life, Hakuna Matata and Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

The production is also renowned for its amazing puppetry which features more than 230 creations in a parade of creatures in different guises. From the small hand-held shadow puppets of lions or hyenas through to a life-size elephant which, taking four people to power it, lumbers through the auditorium at the beginning of the show. And not forgetting the ever-loveable buddies warthog Pumbaa and meerkat Timon plus the King’s right-hand bird Zazu.

The Lion King is an incredibly ingenious show which makes great use of the stage to bring the African Plains and its wildlife alive from herds of stampeding wildebeest through to talking grasslands and skies packed with swirling birds. You can’t blink for a moment or you will miss something marvellous.

I saw both shows at matinees where they were packed full of excited children watching the characters they know so well from the screen take shape before their eyes. Productions such as these remind you how theatre can cast a spell on youngsters which will hopefully last a lifetime and keep them coming back to other shows in the future.

Watching matinees also meant time to do a bit of exploring around theatreland including a visit to Covent Garden where we had dinner at the Courtroom Wine Cellars. Tucked away in the lower floor of The Market Building, this little gem has an extensive wine menu with a selection of 1,000 wines from 100 regions across 10 countries. Its food menu is infinitely smaller but the food is high quality for surprisingly good value bearing in mind the location in the heart of tourist London.

Seeing matinee performances also gave us a free morning to visit a couple of local sights. The Sir John Soane’s Museum is a treasure trove of curiosities. A distinguished architect and collector, Sir John Soane’s home has been kept as it was at the time of his death in 1837 and features collections of sculptures, paintings, furniture and antiquities. It is free to visit although numbers are limited so there may be a short wait to enter.

The Courtauld Gallery is housed within the magnificent Somerset House, just a stone’s throw away from the two theatres. The gallery holds one of the city’s finest collections of artwork with paintings, prints and drawings from artists including Peter Paul Rubens, Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Paul Cézanne and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Of course one of the advantages of the West End is that there are so many other attractions nearby. With Trafalgar and Leicester Squares, Piccadilly, the National Gallery, St Martin-in-the-Fields Church, Covent Garden, the Thames, Westminster and the London Eye within a short walk it’s not a challenge to fill a gap between shows and really make the most of a short theatre break to the capital.

Check out the following websites for dates and booking information on shows and galleries mentioned.

herculesthemusical.co.uk

helionking.co.uk 

courtyardwinecellars.com 

soane.org 

courtauld.ac.uk