See the animal kingdom in these West End shows

Puppeteers, actors in wild and transformative costumes, and occasionally, actual animals take theatre to a whole new level.

Gillian Russo
Gillian Russo

There’s scene-stealers in every West End show. Whether you watch a musical because you’re a fan of the story, you want to see certain cast members in a new role, or you’re planning a fun-filled day at the theatre, you’ll probably walk away wanting to find out more about a show’s cast.

But forget falling in love with actors now. There’s a menagerie of animals taking over the West End. Sadly, we can’t take the animals home. And perhaps even worse, these animals don’t actually exist. Instead, they’re brought to life by incredible puppeteers and actors who make it seem as if animals are living and breathing before our very eyes.

Here’s a roundup of all the show-stealing animals you can see on stage right now.

Book tickets to West End shows on London Theatre.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Forget the Pevensie children and the enchanted dresser that serves as a portal to another world. Aslan the lion is the real star in this magnificent Narnia tale. The mythical lion guides Narnia’s four guests around the land, and eventually sacrifices himself for the kingdom’s future survival. See The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the West End.

Book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tickets on London Theatre.

Life of Pi

Richard Parker the tiger may have a name more suited to a human than an animal, however by the time you’ve seen Life of Pi, you’ll be forgiven for thinking he’s real. Seven actors breathe life into Richard Parker in the Life of Pi play — the performers even made history as they won a joint Olivier for Best Supporting Actor in a Play.

Book Life of Pi tickets on London Theatre.

Frozen

“Reindeers are better than people,” sings Kristoff in Frozen. And maybe he’s right. Sven the reindeer is a Frozen scene-stealer, and by the end of the show, you’ll want to keep the Nordic animal for yourself. See Sven climb the North mountain with Anna, Kristoff, and the gang in this wintry Disney hit.

Book Frozen tickets on London Theatre.

The Lion King

The life-size, hand-carved puppets that bring African wildlife to life were groundbreaking feats of design when The Lion King premiered on Broadway. Tony-winning director Julie Taymor designed them, and what makes them so unique is that they don’t hide the actors’ bodies like a mascot costume, but they also aren’t fully separate entities from the actors, either. The puppetry is incorporated seamlessly into the actors’ costumes, and it makes for a spectacle like nothing else on stage. Besides lions, you’ll see gazelles, hyenas, giraffes, birds, and so much more in the circle of life.

Book The Lion King tickets on London Theatre.

Wicked

One of the key characters in the original Wizard of Oz book and movie is the Cowardly Lion, who makes a brief appearance in the story’s prequel, Wicked, as a (stuffed) cub. (His adult self shows up later, in tail only.) But the real animal stars of Wicked are the flying monkeys, performed by actors who climb the walls of the stage once Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, magically equips the monkeys with wings. One monkey even defies gravity off stage as they fly over the audience’s heads!

One of the main Wicked characters, Dr. Dillamond, is also an animal (a talking goat, in this case), who’s costumed as such with makeup and prosthetics.

Book Wicked tickets on London Theatre.

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