A friend when instead of me to see The Jungle Book performed at Richmond Theatre last week and her lovely 11 year old daughter has written a review – a much more informative review than my children would have given – I would have got “it was sic” and that’s about it:-
“In my opinion, the play was a huge success! It was, in some parts, like a pantomime because the actors occasionally spoke directly to the audience. I thought that that was a good thing as it kept us on our toes. The puppets were incredible, as was the puppetry. I loved the way that you could always see the skeleton and the structure of some of the puppets, they were all very lifelike. The costumes were a perfect example of the phrase, “Simple but effective,” as they all looked like the animal or person they were supposed to be. The animal movements were great, especially the Jackal, you could see them all panting and running around friskily.
It very much differed to the Disney movie. Personally, I’ve never read the original book of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, so when I first heard that I was seeing the play, I immediately thought of the film. It was a little bit disappointing that the herd of elephants and the vultures weren’t in it. However, the theatre company may have interpreted the book differently to Disney so, as I haven’t read the book, I wouldn’t know how Rudyard Kipling originally portrayed them”.
Here is the review from my friend who went along too:-
“It’s potentially quite a risky business to present a stage adaptation of a well-known Disney film. The copyright costs, to a small theatre company, would be prohibitive, so I guessed from the outset that there would be no “Bare Necessities”. However, the music and songs written by BB Cooper were strong and catchy, dramatic and more adult. Think Les Miserables.
The scenery was atmospheric and effective; dramatic lighting, shadowy vines and subtle changes – very simple. Costumes left no doubt as to the animal being portrayed and the acting was fantastic. The animal movements and behaviour were brilliantly choreographed and were the absolute highlight. Black, lithe, elegant Bagheera, big, lovable, oafish Baloo and the anarchic, disloyal monkeys were major characters. Sheer Khan was majestic as the villain, but the star was Tabaqui, the jackal. A henchman, a coward, thoroughly unpleasant and living on the fringe of jungle society; the bully’s side-kick.
What of Mowgli? Precocious, fearless, loyal. A polished performance and a talented singer, but his role was almost ‘principal boy’. At times I felt as though I was watching the annual Christmas panto! Indeed there were a few moments of having to shout, “Behind you!” which the kids loved, and there was a temptation to hiss when Sheer Khan appeared. I also wish Mowgli hadn’t been blond. Suspension of belief is one thing, but the story is about an Indian orphan!
Just as the original book covered themes appropriate to adults and children alike, this show did offer something for everyone. The youngest loved the slapstick and naughtiness of the monkeys, and the comic, obsequious jackal; the little girl behind me was falling of her chair with laughter at times! Whereas the adults could recognise the original book and interpret Kipling’s deeper themes of good, evil, loyalty and choice. All in all, we had a fun evening; it was a well produced show with accomplished actors and some great (new) songs. I also believe the Birmingham Stage Company interpreted ‘The Jungle Book’ as Kipling probably intended (although I still love the Disney version!)”
