Gugwana Dlamini’s voice is the first one you hear in The Lion King – and she goes on to sing in five different African languages.

The South African actress plays Rafiki, the enigmatic shaman who announces the new arrival in the lion kingdom – the cub at the heart of what has become one of the world’s biggest shows.

In the Oscar-winning animated movie of The Lion King, Rafiki is a male mandrill/baboon hybrid who is old and wise, and walks with a stick. In the stage show, which rolls into Bradford for seven weeks this spring, he becomes a she.

When Simba struggles to accept his destiny, it is Rafiki who teaches the young lion to take courage from his father, Mufasa, in learning from the past and facing his future.

Gugwana describes Rafiki as the “heartbeat of the show”.

“She narrates the show and as a shaman healer, she can see the future,” says Gugwana. “She is the first character you see, the first voice you hear, and she is the only character to interact with the audience. When I do my first call at the beginning, I imagine I’m at the top of a hill calling all the villagers to celebrate this new life. I say, ‘Here is the new king’, and all the animals come to bow down, one by one.”

Rafiki is a very physical role, not least because of her heavy costume. “It’s like a traditional healer’s costume. Healers carry bags of bones, mine are attached to my dress,” says Gugwana. “If I return to the show after a break it feels like someone is pushing me on to the ground when I put that dress back on again!

“As an actor, you find out how to walk like an old wise woman, as well as a baboon. The other performers have to express their characters through puppets, but with me it’s in the movement and the voice. Rafiki is wise but also playful. She is wonderful, I love playing her.”

Several African languages are used in the show, including the ‘click’ language Gugwana occasionally uses as Rafiki.

“My first language is Zulu but I am fluent in other African languages too,” she says. “Julie Tamor (the director and co-designer who adapted The Lion King for the stage) did a lot of research in South Africa, and she brought African music and chants to the show. There are tribal marks on the costumes too.”

The Lion King opened in New York in 1997 and became Broadway’s highest-grossing show. It won six Tony Awards, as well as countless other gongs include Olivier Awards, and the West End production is now in its 15th year.

The score blends Elton John and Tim Rice’s music from the film with new songs by the pair, and additional material from Rhythm of the Pride Lands, a Lion King-inspired album.

Gugwana says audience reactions vary. “Americans are really loud and Europeans are more reserved, although by the end of the show they’re on their feet,” she smiles. “It’s a story about a young boy but it touches people in different ways, depending on what’s going on in their life. It has so many different elements – the costumes, the music, all the things happening on the stage at once. Children see something in it that is different to what adults see. It has many layers.”

  • The Lion King runs at the Alhambra from March 21 to May 10. For tickets ring (01274) 432000.