Madagascar the Musical coming to Theatre Royal, Nottingham

A musical adventure based on a hit animated film is out on tour.

Join Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the hip hip Hippo and those hilarious, plotting penguins as they bound onto the stage in the musical adventure of a lifetime in Madagascar The Musical.

Selladoor Worldwide and Theatre Royal Plymouth’s show will visit the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, from Wednesday, July 24, to Saturday, July 27, as part of a major UK and Ireland tour.

TV presenter, theatre performer and Strictly Finalist Karim Zeroual will lead the cast of the brand-new tour of smash-hit family favourite as the hilarious King Julien.

Karim said: “I’m really excited, I love the film dearly, it’s one of my favourites. King Julien is such an iconic character I’m looking forward to getting down and ‘winding my body’ to Move it, Move it!

“Theatre is actually my one true love. I trained at theatre school and started my career in the West End. I’ve been doing a lot of TV recently so coming back to theatre feels like coming home. There’s nothing like a live audience in front of you. I really can’t wait.”

Joining Karim on stage will be Laura Marie Benson (Kowalski), Francisco Gomes (Marty), Aidan Harkins (Swing), Joseph Hewlett (Alex), James Hilton (Ensemble), Gabriel Hinchliffe (Swing), Ella Howlett (Rico), Connor Keetley (Skipper/ Maurice), Brogan McFarlane (Private/ Mort), Joshua Oakes-Rogers (Melman) and Jarneia Richard-Noel (Gloria).

Based on the smash DreamWorks animated motion picture, Madagascar The Musical follows the friends as they escape from their home in New York’s Central Park Zoo and find themselves on an unexpected journey to the madcap world of King Julien’s Madagascar.

Alex the Lion is the king of the urban jungle, the main attraction at New York’s Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends – Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo – have spent their whole lives in blissful captivity before an admiring public and with regular meals provided for them. Not content to leave well enough alone, Marty lets his curiosity get the better of him and makes his escape – with the help of some prodigious penguins – to explore the world.

Madagascar The Musical is directed by award-winning Kirk Jameson with choreography from Fabian Aloise with musical supervision from Mark Crossland, puppet design by Max Humphries and puppet direction from Emma Brunton. It is based on original set designs by Tom Rogers.

Filled with outlandish characters, adventure galore and an upbeat score, audiences will have no choice but to “Move It, Move It!”