A first look inside rehearsals for Watermill Theatre’s upcoming production of The Jungle Book have been revealed.
The piece will run at the Newbury venue from Thursday, 18 November to Friday, 31 December 2021.
The new musical version of Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale is adapted, directed and choreographed by Tom Jackson Greaves with Sanah Ahsan as Poet and Lyricist, Annie Southall as Assistant Director, Priya Patel Appleby as Dramaturg, and Composition by Dom Coyote.
The cast features Peter Ashmore as ‘Shere Khan’ alongside Alexander Bean as ‘Kaa / Councilor Wolf’, Philippa Hogg as ‘Bagheera’, Guido Garcia Lueches as ‘Tabaqui’, Rowena Lennon as ‘Baloo’, and Karishma Young as ‘Mowgli’.
In the depths of the Jungle – a child is abandoned with no possessions, no family and no home. Under the light of the full moon, the infant is discovered by a pack of wolves who decide to raise them as one of their own.
When the ferocious tiger Shere Khan comes looking for prey, the child – Mowgli – is swept to safety by a friendly bear and a wise black panther. Together they teach them the laws of the jungle whilst hiding out from danger. When Shere Khan discovers Mowgli once more, they face a choice… should they stay and risk further destruction? Or should they leave and accept that the home they knows isn’t home after all?
A joyful story about acceptance and finding your place in the world, join Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, Kaa, Tabaqui and the monkeys as they swing through the treetops and dance to the sounds of the jungle!
The full creative team includes set and costume design by Jasmine Swan, lighting design by Andrew Exeter.
The stage management team are Alex Berridge Schuter (DSM), Natalie Toney (ASM) and Isabelle Moore (ASM). Lixi Chivas is audio describing and is one of two BSL integrated performers. The second BSL integrated performer, still to be confirmed, will be a deaf sign performer.
For tickets and more information, visit watermill.org.uk
As part of the run there will be one socially distanced performance a week as well as child-friendly ‘Pyjama Performances’ on selected dates.
