A cast of more than 50 bring Disney's The Lion King to Edinburgh this week

The musical previously ran for a 15 week season in the Capital in 2013 and the return coincides with The Lion King celebrating 20 years at London’s Lyceum Theatre on the West End.

Since the UK premiere on Tuesday 19 October 1999, the show has entertained more than 16 million people and remains the West End’s best-selling stage production and sixth longest-running West End musical of all time. The tour also follows the cinema release of Disney’s The Lion King this summer.

Directed by Jon Favreau, the film bought the timeless story to the screen in a whole new way and has now made over $1.5 billion worldwide making it the 7th biggest film of all time.

Bringing The Lion King phenomenon back to the Capital are an international cast of more than 50 drawn from countries including Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Ireland, Jamaica, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, and United Kingdom.

The story follows the journey of Simba from wide-eyed cub to his destined role as King of the Pridelands.

In Edinburgh the roles of Simba, Nala and Rafiki will be played by Dashaun Young, Josslynn Hlenti and Thandazile Soni respectively. The company will also include Steve Beirnaet, Matthew Forbes, Jean-Luc Guizonne, Richard Hurst, Alan McHale, Rebecca Omogbehin, Carl Sanderson and Simon Trinder.

In 1998 the Broadway production of The Lion King won six 1998 Tony Awards including Best Musical and has since earned more than 70 major awards.

The show features Elton John and Tim Rice’s music from the animated film along with three new songs by the pair. Fusing Western popular music and the distinctive sounds and rhythms of Africa two of the show’s best-loved songs are Can You Feel the Love Tonight and the haunting ballad Shadowland.

The stunning artistry of The Lion King is the work of a team of designers which drew on diverse cultural influences to recreate the rich colours and vast expanses of the African savanna in what is a daring and inspiring reinvention of one of the most successful animated films of all time.

The Lion King, The Playhouse, Greenside Place, from tonight, £20-£90, various times, children under three not admitted, www.atgtickets.com