If you go down in the woods today be sure of a big surprise because it’s inhabited by a bunch of dour ‘brummies’ without a decent vocal chord between them.
I love morality tales featuring anthropomorphised animals, whether it be Watership Down, The Wind in the Willows or The Animals of Farthing Wood, so I was particularly looking forward to The Birmingham Stage Company’s version of The Jungle Book. The play, based on Rudyard Kipling’s book, features a small boy, Mowgli, who is adopted by Akela’s wolf pack. Raised in the jungle, he is befriended by wise Bagheera (a panther) and fun-loving Baloo (a bear), whilst forever being shadowed by his nemesis Shere Khan (a tiger). As he grows into a young man, Mowgli realises that he can no longer live in the jungle, but can he ever be accepted back into his village either?
Narratively closer to the book than the Disney film, this particular production suffers mainly from the limited vocal range of its key protagonists. Lyrically and choreographically the songs are good, but apart from the performances of Philip Scutt and Yasmin Kadi (the insane Tabaqui and seductive Kaa respectively, both excellent) are poorly sung. This seems a shame because a lot of attention has been given to the actions and movements of the actors, embodying the type of animal that each character is, and this is uniformly good. Also, there is a certain feral quality to the stage design and costumes, reflecting the ‘jungle law’ mentality of its inhabitants, which adds weight to a production that is limited in other areas.
This Jungle Book seems be undecided as to whether it is a West End Musical or The Royal Shakespeare Company, a mixture of feel good songs clashing with stoic, heavy-handed moralising. This, I suppose, is fine if you’re a five-year-old and like your fables painted thick, but the whole production lacks the energy to harness the attention of anyone raised on a Playstation. Although unfair, my preconception was to see a production in some way akin to the Disney film, and I found myself yearning for the ‘Bear Necessities’ to break the shackles of a show that never really found its range.
I love morality tales featuring anthropomorphised animals, whether it be Watership Down, The Wind in the Willows or The Animals of Farthing Wood, so I was particularly looking forward to The Birmingham Stage Company’s version of The Jungle Book. The play, based on Rudyard Kipling’s book, features a small boy, Mowgli, who is adopted by Akela’s wolf pack. Raised in the jungle, he is befriended by wise Bagheera (a panther) and fun-loving Baloo (a bear), whilst forever being shadowed by his nemesis Shere Khan (a tiger). As he grows into a young man, Mowgli realises that he can no longer live in the jungle, but can he ever be accepted back into his village either?
Narratively closer to the book than the Disney film, this particular production suffers mainly from the limited vocal range of its key protagonists. Lyrically and choreographically the songs are good, but apart from the performances of Philip Scutt and Yasmin Kadi (the insane Tabaqui and seductive Kaa respectively, both excellent) are poorly sung. This seems a shame because a lot of attention has been given to the actions and movements of the actors, embodying the type of animal that each character is, and this is uniformly good. Also, there is a certain feral quality to the stage design and costumes, reflecting the ‘jungle law’ mentality of its inhabitants, which adds weight to a production that is limited in other areas.
This Jungle Book seems be undecided as to whether it is a West End Musical or The Royal Shakespeare Company, a mixture of feel good songs clashing with stoic, heavy-handed moralising. This, I suppose, is fine if you’re a five-year-old and like your fables painted thick, but the whole production lacks the energy to harness the attention of anyone raised on a Playstation. Although unfair, my preconception was to see a production in some way akin to the Disney film, and I found myself yearning for the ‘Bear Necessities’ to break the shackles of a show that never really found its range.