Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 Jungle Books, a retelling of ancient Indian folk tales, have themselves been retold many times. Particularly the famous story of the boy raised by wolves, after the omnipotent Disney gave it such an all-conquering song and dance re-rub that the original was almost forgotten.
Here above the pub, the tale returns with a grittier feel, as Adam Dechanel and Simon James Collier’s back-to-basics interpretation strips out the jolly singing and rediscovers the folklore. Never fear, there’s plenty of animal magic to keep the kids wide-eyed and slack-jawed too though. The most striking example being how deftly the small cast of eight represent a whole host of animals, from marching elephants to slithering snakes, in the confines of an upstairs room.
My six-year-old was most impressed with the physical aspects, and lit up by Dmitry Ser’s spritely Mowgli.
The cast seem to relish the opportunity not only to inhabit animal skin, but to jump into different ones (and each with an amusing regional accent, to boot). This menagerie actually began to feel too extensive midway through the second act, where the theatre’s younger patrons became slightly restless before being thoroughly recaptured by the all-action finale.
A sudden slide into Kipling’s famous poem, If, felt off-kilter, the dialogue having already swung sharply from the tensions of the first act into a far more comedic, contemporary second half. But this remains a bold attempt to reclaim the story, and one that enjoys having a couple of gentle pops at the Disney version along the way.
The costumes are fantastic too, with intricate headgear that works well in the up-close-and-personal nature of the space. Their debt to Uncle Walt’s corporation not missed by my eagle-eyed companion:
The flyers make a big play of how Mowgli will need ‘you’ every step of the way – and the Twitter handle for the show is Jungle Book ‘4D’ – so we thought there’d therefore be some audience interactivity in the story line. Beguiling snake Kaa staring us out in the front row was about as far as that device stretched, but you can’t beat seeing how rapt the little faces lined up along there looked anyway.
It may be set in the tropics, but with the final act of triumphant cross-species camaraderie, this is a Christmas show with a quintessentially K-Town jungle twist.
Runs Tues-Sun to 5th January at 7.30pm, plus Sat & Sun at 3.30pm. £19/£15 Tickets here
