Around a decade after the iconic musical production last toured Australia, Disney’s The Lion King is set to once again return to Australia – starting with Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in April 2026. Disney has today confirmed the principal casting for this new production, which features both alumni of previous Australian seasons, and newcomers making their Lion King debut. The upcoming season follows an audition process, with performers selected from Australia, New Zealand and several other regions around the world.
Returning to the role of Rafiki will be Buyi Zama. This will mark her third time performing the character in Australia, having previously played Rafiki in the 2003 and 2013 tours. Originally from South Africa, she has appeared in The Lion King in a number of territories, including Australia, North America, China, London and on Broadway, and now calls Australia home.
Zama will be joined by another alum of The Lion King global company, New Zealand performer Nick Afoa. Afoa made his theatre debut as Simba twelve years ago, later reprising the role in London’s West End. For the 2026 season in Sydney, he will step into the role of Mufasa.
The remainder of the principal cast combines new faces and familiar performers. Those announced for key roles include Benn Welford (Australia) as Zazu, Jamie McGregor (Aotearoa/New Zealand) as Timon, Rutene Spooner (Aotearoa/New Zealand) as Pumbaa, Aphiwe Nyezi (South Africa) as Simba, Emily Nkomo (Zimbabwe/Australia) as Nala, Winston Hillyer (Philippines/Aotearoa/New Zealand) as Banzai, Ezra Williams (Australia) as Shenzi and Mat Verevis (Australia) as Ed. Additional casting, including those youth who will be portraying the roles of Young Simba and Young Nala, will be announced closer to the season commencing.
The 2026 run of The Lion King will be the ninth Disney Theatrical Group production to be staged in Sydney over the past thirty years. Previous titles presented in the city have included national tours of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mary Poppins and Frozen. Executive producer Anne Quart highlighted the return of The Lion King to Australian stages and the artists involved in the new season in the following statement:
We are thrilled that THE LION KING is returning to Australia with a world class group of artists to once again engage with your wonderfully welcoming audiences. Together with Julie Taymor we have assembled a thrilling cast, and we can’t wait to welcome new audiences, joining the 10 million our Disney Theatrical productions have entertained to date.
Ticketing information for The Lion King the Musical is available via the production’s official Australian website.
