The Lion King, as an adult, in London’s West End, in June 2022, was the experience I never knew I needed.

It’s a Disney movie that I have without a doubt seen multiple times and loved as a child for sure. I mean which kid does not? It is a timeless classic.  I’ve seen it on the big screen and in the comfort of my home. I love the music and the singing, the animation, and the personalities of each character. Well, except Scar. But as an adult, trying to understand my reason for even existing, I understand why he did what he did. Seeing it as a brand-new mother, was a thought-provoking, heart wrenching and tear-jerking experience that I will never forget. It left me pondering on so many things for at least three weeks after leaving that theater.

The evening that I attended with my Caribbean music team, was quite busy. The theater was filled with students from various schools and youth organisations, and we had to follow a long, noisy line to the door. Surprisingly we were among the only black people there. I must say that up to the point of snuggling into my seat after getting popcorn, gummy bears, and wine, I did not fathom the rush of emotions that would come to me while looking at the play. The students squealed and laughed as the cast made their way through the aisles and interacted with the onlookers. I smiled at the children’s tenderness of age and their innocence of understanding, although the children today are quite advanced in their thinking. I took home quite a few realisations, and I wanted share them with you, my blessed and wonderful readers.

One of the marvelous things about seeing the show on Broadway, is the costumes. They allow you to see the puppets and the humans in them at the same time. You connect with the “animal” character, but the vision of the human within each suit, pierces your heart and opens the floodgates of connection and emotion. Absolutely genius! The cheetah is my favourite character in which you see the delicate and magical movements of both human and puppet.

1. Realisation number one. “It be your own people”

That lion cub looked up to his uncle scar because he thought he was cool, unlike his strict father. Children don’t necessarily like discipline. He felt like he was favoured when Scar agreed with him and spoke against his father’s rules. Simba didn’t know that his uncle was jealous of him and would do anything to get the throne. In his child’s mind, he couldn’t see it. All he knew was that he loved his family. Children are innocent and trusting like that. This made me think of how other people try to interfere with the way that you raise your children, and eventually, some succeed in turning them against you. Grant it, some children are better off without their parents because of abuse and other situations. The Lion King portrayed how people take advantage of their relation to, and the youth and innocence of the child or children they are trying to destroy.

2. Realisation number two. The absence of a parent or both will affect our children in ways we can never predict.

Simba lost his father to death, and then was made to believe that he had to run away, therefore leaving his mother, and the rest of the pride behind. I can only imagine the loneliness and pain he felt, before reaching Timon and Pumbaa, who then eased away his worries. We’ve all seen children and their dramatic reactions to the simplest of issues. They cry, scream and wail because they have no gate on their emotions. That lion cub was both grieving and fighting guilt and shame all whilst being alone and vulnerable out in the wild. I thought of all the children who were wrongly torn away from their parents or relatives and placed in ‘the system’ only to be hurt and abused by so called foster parents.  Sometimes it’s the opposite. They were left with family who were the ones repeatedly hurting them. Some of them ending up dead, followed by the now desensitized cries of “being failed by the law.”  I dare say that the lockdown made some of these kids’ worst nightmares come true.

3. Realisation number 3. People try to bury trauma with certain lifestyles in order to avoid facing or confronting a traumatic past.

It may be looked upon as odd behavior, or them being out of place. What Simba witnessed was seriously traumatizing for a youngster, and then to have his uncle make him understand and believe that it was his fault, was more than salt in the wounds. What was a lion cub doing in the forest, eating grub with a meerkat and a warthog? The weirdest trio ever seen I believe. The lesson I got here was that even if we stray from our life path however, there is going to be good people and new lessons to be learnt from that experience.  The Universe works like that. We are free to choose, depending on our levels of understanding, and so like a good parent, the Universe places things and people along our path to lead us back to our destinies. Timon and Pumba by nature were supposed to run away from the lion cub, or even kill it, because it had the potential to grow into a monster that would in turn eat them. But they took the chance, and it paid off. Sometimes the people you least expect turn around and save your life. They encouraged him to forget about his worries and just live. “Hakuna matata.” They helped this young lion to cope with his trauma and loss, and when the Universe knew that the time was right, Nala showed up to direct him back to his rightful place in the world.

4. Realisation number four. African Spirituality is practically demonized everywhere.

As a young woman from the Caribbean, conversations of things characterized as Voodoo, Hoodoo and even Divination are never far away. Catholicism, Christianity, and other religions were forced upon the African slaves whose descendants make up the Caribbean today. Any behaviour that doesn’t fit the norm of a good church-going individual is labeled as witchy or evil. Anything where we experience our inner spiritual powers are shunned upon. Who are we to have such magical experiences? We are not priests, pastors or clergy people, and those wonderful happenings are reserved only for them. The title “witch’ or “evil” is even weaponized in the form of rumours against innocent people. People and children in AFRICA die from such titles every day! The irony! Yet we have all watched the Lion King. We were all okay with our children watching it, multiple times at that. What in the hell was Rafiki doing throwing various ingredients into that calabash-looking bowl, and drawing on the tree? Why is that character a woman in the play and not in the film?  What was that vision of Simba’s father in the sky? Or am I taking it too literally? Why is it accepted in that film, and if I were to go to my roof top and simply sit and look at the moon, or say that I have conversations with the spirit of my dead relatives, or tell people that I bless my water before drinking it or watering my plants, I’d be quickly placed in the black box of stereotypical witchy behavior? The math is not “mathing”

5. Realisation number five. The predominance of White people.

Maybe it was just the night that we chose to go to the theater. Maybe it was our location in London. Maybe it was just the way that it was meant to be. So many things could be the reason why, but I was a tad bit disappointed that the black folk were scattered here and there in a sea of white. It made me wonder what ‘Type’ of black person, actually goes to the theater. I mean the play has been running since 1999. Is it part of Black British culture to go see plays? Especially one as great as the Lion King? I am not sure, but I really did expect the theater to be filled with black people.

6. Realisation number six: Bad Leadership and its effects. Scar.

The grasslands went to ruin under Scar’s watch. Everything died, the herds moved away and the lions were starving. It reminded me of the bible verse that said something to the effect of ‘everything ill got will not last, and will go in an unpleasant way, no matter how long they stick around.’ Scar wanted to be King so badly, that when he got the opportunity through murder and lies, he didn’t seem to know what to do with it. It made my skin crawl to see the Hyenas all over Pride Rock. I thought of the situations that I was familiar with, where people became sick, went away or even died, and everything they tried to prevent or keep at bay was let into their homes, houses and families. The thing you fear or resist, will eventually, surely come upon you. Some people took things like land and property through manipulation and other dishonest ways, often at the cost of war with their families, and it all came to naught. Often the houses were met with plagues of disharmony and fighting, and afterwards left to ruin, simply because its inhabitants did not rightly belong there. Until the crooked places are made straight, the dirty places clean and the disharmony, graciously harmonized, everything will come to naught.

7. Realisation number seven:. The Lesson of Karma! Scar’s death.

Scar ended up in the same position as his brother. Or probably a worse one because he was eaten by his own Hyena Army. He was told the exact same words that he once told his young, scared and confused nephew when he caused him to run away. Karma is always present to remind us that what goes around, comes around. That debts need be settled, and tallies taken. When he was cornered and confronted by his nephew, he still tried to use Mufasa’s death against Simba. He was willing to let the misunderstanding go on in order to have his way. To me, that is some next level “Bad mind and wickedness.” As we say in the Caribbean. I feel like Scar silently wished that he had killed Simba as well that day. It also makes we wonder if letting Simba live was the one tiny bit of love or mercy that Old Scar had in him.

8. Realisation number eight:. True Friendship.

Help comes from places we least expect. Your real friends challenge you and want to see you win. They call you out on the bullshit and let you know when they think that you are not living in your purpose. Fake friends or silent enemies want to see you always trying, but never making it. They will be all over your social media or in your face saying “Go! I know you’re gonna make it. I’m here for you!” 24/7 and seven days a week. The moment you actually make it, crickets, sudden pull backs on communication, or even downright war. Nala found Simba and was instantly overjoyed that he was alive. She calculated immediately that the King needed to return to the throne in order for the grasslands to thrive again. She knew the importance of Divine Order. Simba was of course afraid, and still believed that he was the reason for his father’s death, but in the name of love and courage, he went back. Timon and Pumbaa followed to help, like the loyal friends they had become.

9. Realisation, or rather question number nine:. The name” Scar.”

Just one more thing that I thought about was, why the name Scar for the Villain? Is it because Simba’s wounds were unhealed despite making a life for himself in the forest? Was it that Scar, who was indeed the cause of such injury, was forever there to remind Simba and the rest of the pride that they were indeed wounded and broken? I find the name insanely interesting and thought provoking.

Well, there you have it. I felt a deep need to share this experience, and its after effects here on my blog and I hope that the people who have seen  the Lion King, as adults, especially on Broadway can relate. It made me become even more protective of my own lion cub, and really pray for his guidance and protection, be it by tree-painting baboons, or good Samaritans along his way.

Sincerely, an Island Mother.

Shout out to Aliyah Trottman for the photo. ❤