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Keziah Joseph as Mowgli with the Jungle Book company. Pictures: Manuel Harlan The Jungle Book
Malvern Theatres
**** The Jungle Book was originally written as
a collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling in 1894 and this modern
adaptation by Jessica Swale transformed Malvern’s Festival Stage into a
vibrant Indian Jungle following the ‘man-cub’ Mowgli’s struggle for
survival. My five-year-old daughter, who loves the Disney
version from 1967, knows all the words to the catchy soundtrack with
Sherman Brothers classics like I Wan’na Be Like You and who can
forget Terry Gilkyson’s Bare Necessities so Joe Stilgoe had a
lot to live up to and didn’t disappoint. Although Stilgoe was only ever commissioned to
write four songs he ended up writing 12 which definitely helped bring
the stage show to life with lyrics like We’re all in the same
jungle, we’re all under one roof….we might speak a different language
but we all breathe the same air. Stilgoe is the son of lyricist and
composer Richard Stilgoe of Starlight Express and Cats
fame. The casting has helped catapult this show into
the 21st century with many roles reversed to favour a more female led
cast with Akela, the leader of the wolves played by Tripti Tripuraneni,
Kaa, the snake, by Rachel Dawson, Bagheera the panther as Deborah
Oyelade and most prominent Mowgli, the man-cub, as Keziah Joseph. The fabulous set and costume designer Peter
McKintosh creatively displayed painted ladders to represent jungle fauna
and a rotating floor with more ladders tied together to make clever
climbing apparatus allowed the viewer to go along with the movement and
flow of the journey Mowgli takes being raised by wolves and taught the
rules of the jungle by trusted guardians Bagheera and Balloo, comically
performed by Dyfrig Morris.
There was danger and drama with fights and fire
every time Lloyd Gorman as Shere Khan prowled on to set with his sparkly
orange stripes and devilish tail. We were taken on an emotional roller
coaster under the direction of Max Webster and when Mowgli finally
decided to find ‘Woman’ in the Man Village and leave his creature
friends behind to be with his mother there wasn’t a dry eye in the
house. This family show by the Children’s Touring
Partnership and Royal & Derngate, Northampton is a show not to be missed
as this fabulous tale brings adventure, danger and humour all wrapped up
in a magical score including talented Portuguese percussionist Diogo
Gomes who was on stage throughout. Live music, including five actor-musicians wows
the audience and how many times can you say you’ve seen a monkey play
the cello at the same time? The monkeys came out with phrases like ‘OMG’
and ‘Are you stinking what I’m stinking’ which made it appeal to younger
audience members. The Jungle Book at Malvern Theatres was a musical
delight with powerful vocals from Keziah Joseph as Mowgli, humour from
tree rubbing, prickly pear eating Balloo from Dyfrig Morris, a favourite
with the kids and charismatic Bagheera who was feisty and strong so no
wonder Shere Khan didn’t stand a chance. Lloyd Gorman brought danger and
drama as the tiger but Mowgli won our hearts. The Jungle Book Tour continues to Cambridge Arts
Theatre to 28-03-18 (01223 503333) or
boxoffice@cambridgeartstheatre.com then the tour continues to
Newcastle, Plymouth, Norwich, Nottingham, Canterbury, Salford and
Blackpool. Emma Trimble 17-03-18 |
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