Had the folks down for the weekend with a fairly hectic itinerary (though alas the weather seemed to decide to be cloudy and grey all Sunday and a large chunk of Saturday).
We went to the Lion King production at the Lyceum theatre on Saturday afternoon (stalls seats so we got a very good view). I have to say I was very impressed - it is certainly the most impressive theatre production visually that I have ever seen - the animal costumes were incredible - and the way they achieved animating them was very clever.
Zazu (the talking bird adviser) was great and Rafiki (the crazy baboon shaman character) was just as mad as in the film, and the actress playing the character had an amazing voice. All the best one liners from the film were incorporated plus a couple of extra ones.
Highly recommended for the costumes / visual spectacle. Also the Lyceum seems to be in a much better state of repair than most London theatres I've been to - so the whole experience was more pleasant.
On Sunday we went to the London Bridge Experience. Apparently it is being sued by the owners of the London dungeon for copying some ideas. To be honest whilst some aspects are similar in style - it is covering a different theme (the evolution of London bridges over time rather than Jack the Ripper) and it is more reliant on actors than a ride. The second part of the attraction is the London Tombs - this is a sort of haunted house done in the same style as House of Shock (an annual Halloween event in New Orleans) whereby costumed people jump out at you and try and scare you on the way round. This does work - my mum and M were both terrified several times. This latter part really isn't similar to the London dungeon at all - unless it has changed substantially since I last went 2 years ago - so I think their case is weak. And if you've never had the chance to do House of Shock in New Orleans, then this is a great taster. The first part is to be honest quite history lite - fun but you won't learn a great deal.
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