PRIDE OF GREEN LANE: Pupils rehearse before the first of their three performances
PRIDE OF GREEN LANE: Pupils rehearse before the first of their three performances

FOR three performances only the magic and drama of Disney will be played out on stage at a Barnard Castle primary school.

The Lion King – Kids is being performed at Green Lane Primary School as part of the end of term celebrations. The director of the play, teacher Nic Linsley, said: “We have some fabulous talent here at Green Lane. It’s fantastic that we are working on a proper drama from a proper script.”

All 227 pupils are involved in the production, some with leading roles and others performing in the chorus of well known songs such as Eye of the Tiger, Roar and The Circle of Life. Several pupils also had backstage roles such as lighting and costume

Even Coco the chihuahua, a pupil’s pet, will be donning a fake mane and appearing as the baby Simba. Mrs Linsley paid tribute to all the hard work the children had put into the play.

She said: “We have been rehearsing for weeks and we have also had a couple of Lion King camps when the children have come into school on a Saturday for extra rehearsals. They have all been absolutely amazing.”

The idea of the show has been popular with parents and pupils. About 700 tickets have been sold for the three performances and the feedback from the pupils was positive.

One said: “It has been really good getting the experience of a Disney play.”

A second added: “It is really fun being on stage.”

But there has been one note of sadness with pupils saying that this would be their last play at Green Lane.