INTERVIEW: King Julien, Lord of the Lemurs – Madagascar Live!

In anticipation of the blockbuster show Madagascar LIVE! coming to the Glasgow Clyde Auditorium next month, Glasgow Theatre Blog was granted an audience with King Julien, Lord of the Lemurs in order to prepare the citizens of Glasgow for his royal visit.

King Julien, can you tell us more about the story of Madagascar LIVE!?

Madagascar LIVE! is, of course, mostly about me. But you are right, I am often busy with our many lemur parties, so we had to include other shiny entertainments in the show too. Alex who is a Lion, Gloria who is a Hippo, Melman who is a giraffe and Marty who is a zebra, escape from their zoo and find themselves in my royal kingdom on the island of Madagascar. Somehow the penguins end up there too. Do not ask me how. As always when I am around, there is much singing and dancing – but also thrilling jeopardy and excitement.

What can fans of the Madagascar films expect from the live arena show?

If you are dancing and singing in the cinema people might say “Sit down! Be quiet!” But when you come to see our show, live, you can boogie on down and no one will tell you to stop. You will also be laughing out loud. Indeed there will be generalised hilarity, colourful scenes and much joyful music, along with lots of lemurs. You like lemurs? Of course you do.

What is the most challenging part of the show for you to perform and why?

What is this word “challenge”? For a King of such royal Kingliness I do not get challenged by something as simple as performing for my loyal subjects all over the UK every night. This is very easy for me, and in fact I am insulted by the question.

What is your favourite song to perform in the show and why?

The greatest song of my liking is ‘I Like to Move it Move It’. Because it is true! We all love to move it move it, and I would move it move it all day if I did not have important royal duties to attend to, such as having my face fanned, being fed fresh fruit, and sleeping. If you are, for some reason, not agreeing with me, there are lots of other songs for you to enjoy too as well as lots of dancing.

Who or what has been the biggest influence on your career so far?

Of course the greatest influence on King Julien is King Julien himself. Wise. Powerful. Handsome. What more influence could a lemur need??

We know the show will be enjoyed by younger audience members, what can adults expect?

Just like big and small lemurs enjoy my parties, human adults and their offspring will enjoy Madagascar Live!. They will be liking the excellent humour, sophisticated music and of course my acting performance – it rivals the greatest of your British thespians.

Your career so far has included a successful reign as king. Has coming to the UK to perform in Madagascar Live! presented any new challenges?

I am finding these shores very cold upon my soft and delicate furs. For this, Maurice is designing me a new crown with some sort of thermal lining. Aside from the temperature, I am greatly looking forward to meeting the loyal peoples of the UK.

Do you have any final words for your loyal fans in the UK?

What better way to proclaim your love for your great leader (me) than to come along to Madagascar Live! to bask in my warm and powerful glow? Come, worship your king and I promise you too will learn how to MOVE IT MOVE IT like the grooviest of lemurs.