'The Jungle Book' is one of those stories that both young and old alike have grown up with - or maybe they are still growing up with it! I remember the Rudyard Kipling novel, a generation younger remembers the Disney film; and now we have a new veresion for today's youngsters, in this adaptation by Jessica Swale.
This fun musical (actually it's a quasi-pantomime), is full of contemporary references, up-to-date urban clothing, and even the set is an "urban jungle" - something resembling a skateboard park, a rope-meshed climbing frame and perhaps the legs of an electricity pylon. This was our urban jungle world, where the animals were anthropomorphised and then some!
Constantly breaking the fourth wall and interacting with the audience, the youngsters engaged and delighted in the comedic antics of Baloo (Neil Hurst), and laughed at Shere Khan's (Gareth Morgan) non-vegetable diet; whilst watching a young Mowgli (Jason Patel) grow from tiny puppets to a young manchild, in the care of the unlikely 'parents' Baloo and Bagheera (Sam Yetunde); and grow up as a wolf in the pack, led by Akela (Tamara Verhoven Clyde), Raksha (Ebony Feare), and Hiran (Tarek Slater).
This is a fully ensemble production, where the cast are one minute part of the wolfpack, and the next jumping around with banana antics as the 'funkeys' (funkey monkeys), and as the tale unfolds, we learn some important lessons about trust, friendship, community, and perhaps most importantly, about inclusivity and diversity, without any of it seeming preachy. And even if the target audience is too young to understand these themes, they are subliminally fed with skill, and this updated story is suitable for our 21st century age.
The cast are all multi-talented, singing, dancing, and changing characters throughout. Joe Stilgoe's score is upbeat, contemporary, and the lyrics are easy to follow for the youngsters. Some of the more scary and perhaps more gruesome moments are not shied away from, as Morgan's Shere Khan is forever predatory and prowling, looking to kill the manchild and eat him. However, these moments are juxtaposed with fun antics from both Baloo and the Funkies who lifted the pace and dyanmic on their entrances.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 8.4.22
on - 8.4.22
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