We have all seen the Disney movie, sung along to the songs and even been known to shed a tear (well I was 11 when I first watched it), but there is nothing quite like the spectacle of watching the story of The Lion King brought to life on the West End stage. Now in it’s 10th year, this extravagant production has entertained over seven and a half million people since its UK premiere in 1999, and I’m happy to report it is still as fresh, dynamic and colourful as ever.

From the outset, I joined the nearly full-to-capacity audience at the Lyceum Theatre in being totally captivated by the sheer life-like quality of the puppetry, as what seemed like the whole animal kingdom took their place at the foot of pride rock for the annoucement of Simba’s birth to the tune of Circle of Life. Elephants trundled under our feet towards the stage, antelopes lept and bound and giraffes slowly meandered in the imagined heat to complete this stunning opening scene.

While at times the production failed to retain these giddy heights of production with a few too many filler scenes, the overall result was a feast for both the eyes and the ears.

For the ears, Elton John and Tim Rice penned three new numbers for the show in addition to the five they wrote for the animated film, while South African composer also contributed to the expanded score, all resulting in a feel-good fusion of popular Western music and the distinctive sounds and rythmns of Africa. For the eyes, over 200 expertly constructed masks and puppets come alive each night, outnumbering the London cast of 46 by more than four to one. Each hand-crafted, there is even a full-time puppetry team dedicated to maintaing these expensive creations.

Then of course there is the awe-inspiring staging itself. With numerous platforms, raises, pullies and set changes, this is no straight-forward musical, in fact, the team even had to build 10ft underground when they moved into the Lyceum Theatre to make room for a lift shaft for pride rock. The pivotal scene in which we see the great Mustafa, played with regal presence by Shaun Escoffery, trampled by a herd of wilderbeast is another shining example of award-winning production as a replica of a traditional Victorian rolling contraption is used to simulate the approaching animals.

Creatively, The Lion King is second to none, but no amount of stage trickery can make up for a lack-lustre cast, and thankfully the London company is more than capable. Jubilantly played by 10-year-old Kennan Munn-Francis, young Simba’s enthusiasm for life was infectious as he and the equally talented Nala (Skye Hutchinson) ran riot in I Just Can’t Wait to be King, while the evil Scar and his gaggle of mangy hyena sidekicks were the perfect panto villains.

Timon and Pumba provided plenty of light relief and perhaps some of the best examples of the expert puppetry, but the person who really stole the show has to be the eccentric but wise witchdoctor Rafiki. Played with the right balance of humour and sincerity by Brown Lindiwe Mkhize, Rafiki embodied a celebration of the African rituals and myths that lie at the very core of this spectacular show.

The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre, Wellington Street, Covent Garden, is currently booking to Saturday, March 28, 2010, with performances on Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm and matinee performances on Wednesday and Saturday, 2pm and Sunday, 3pm. Tickets: 0844 844 0005 www.thelionking.co.uk (£20-£64.50)