Festival Theatre, Fri 15 Mar, 2024.
Akram Khan’s adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book is visually stunning and such a well thought out show. Created as a project both for children and adults the piece keeps many of the characters from the story but transports them into a contemporary period of ecological disaster. Using offstage recorded voice over actors to tell the story is a clever ploy, and helps to create a sense of a bedtime story, and transforms this performance into a dance and theatre production rather than a pure dance piece.
Akram Khan’s celebrated choreography is compelling throughout. The company of 10 dancers imitate animal actions wonderfully and when there is a melding of animation, music and ensemble dancing it is truly stunning. Khan plays Baloo, who in this version is a Russian dancing bear who escapes the circus after a massive flood. His dancing is lithe and so distinctive as he brings verve into the often playful antics of this character.
Rather than dressing Khan the snake in a costume or using a puppet he is portrayed using a series of boxes held afloat by a team of dancers, slithering across the stage behind a box with glowing green eyes. I love how this references the simple pretend antics of young children using boxes in their play, while still allowing the dancers to insinuate reptilian movements freely.
The ensemble of dancers work seamlessly throughout and except for the central character of Mowgli they take on various roles, being wolves at some points and escaped lab monkeys at other times. Animations of Mowgli’s backstory before she is rescued by the animals are beautiful but also help convey the show’s central message that we must quickly learn to co-exist with nature and not destroy it.
Jocelyn Pook’s score is also wonderful and adds so much to the sense of this story originating in India. Her inclusion of a choir of female voices on occasion also adds to the beauty and suggests a sense of hope for the future.
Utterly brilliant animation by the team at Yeast Culture is fundamental to the success of this show. Whether it be rain teeming down to create a flood, Mowgli being swept off a raft into the depths of the ocean with all the fish and sea creatures, elephants walking across the stage or birds flocking together – a sense of childlike magic takes over the stage. I especially liked that the animation uses a black and white colour palette so that it emulates the illustrations found in old fashioned children’s storybooks.
Despite this being a production that is aimed at families I found the plot ambiguous at times especially as the company all wore very similar costumes. Reading a precis of the story in a program prior to seeing the show is recommended. Don’t be deterred though as this is a show that deserves to be seen. It will stay with me for a long time as a show of great beauty and merit.
5 stars
Cathy Tune
Jungle Book reimagined continues at 1pm and 7pm Sat 16 Mar. Tickets available from Ticketek or click HERE to purchase your tickets.
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The Clothesline Rating...
Catherine Tune
Visually stunning, with compelling choreography and utterly brilliant animation.
