“a lovely thing for the family to do together at Christmas time”
I always look forward to going to the theatre and before I went to see The Jungle Book I had the song “Bare Necessities” singing in my head all day, written by Jessica Swale with music by Joe Stilgoe (NOTE from TBTL Bare Necessities was written by Terry Gilkyson, is licensed and does not feature in our production). This production is based on the original stories by Rudyard Kipling and not the Disney version, there are some songs but not the ones I am familiar with, but I did enjoy Mowgli’s song that ran throughout the show.
I think most people will be familiar with the story of Mowgli who was found by a pack of wolves and had a bear and a panther as his guardians.
It is a story of friendship between different species, a lesson in accepting differences and realising that everyone has something to offer.
The costumes were not overly animal like and only gave a suggestion of the animal, it was the acting that gave the traits and personality of each animal. The way Darren Kuppan as Shere Khan moved his shoulders when he walked around stage was just like a tiger. The wolves played and huddled together just like an animal pack, the three monkeys even though they were up to no good were so funny with their street talk and attitude.
The character I found the most endearing was Baloo, who was the pantomime dame of this show. Jordan Pearson was brilliant and gave me the most laughs, I would love to meet him down at the waterhole for a drink sometime, I got the impression he goes there a lot.
The entire show is done on one set which is a rather abstract jungle scene with various steps, levels and hanging vines, the colours and lighting created a perfect jungle feel and a proper sense of animals appearing and disappearing into the jungle darkness.
The transition of Mowgli from baby to boy was done with a puppet which didn’t quite work for me. I usually love a bit of puppetry but this one just didn’t look right, I thought it looked a bit creepy and because it needed three operators it wasn’t easy to see.
The second half of the show felt a bit flat, and didn’t move fast enough. I was expecting more singing, dancing and more use of the hanging vines. When I first saw the stage set I imagined the monkeys swinging and jumping on them but this didn’t happen.
This family show is billed as being suitable for ages six and over but I would put it at slightly higher starting age, I know the six year old in our family would struggle to stay engaged for the whole show, but all the adults will love it.
A trip to the theatre is a lovely thing for the family to do together at Christmas time.
The Jungle Book is showing at Theatre by the Lake from 15 November to 12 January, shows run for 2 hour 20 mins with an interval stating at 7.15 plus matinees on selected dates.
Tickets prices start at £12 and can be purchased from theatrebythelake.com
Read the full review HERE.
