The Jungle Book E-Book

Jessica Swale

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Rudyard Kipling's beloved tale of family, belonging and identity has been reimagined in this acclaimed adaptation by Jessica Swale, with original songs by Joe Stilgoe.  The Jungle Book tells the story of Mowgli, the man-cub who is raised by wolves. With a little help from his animal friends – including Bagheera the panther, Baloo the bear, and Kaa the python – he must face the cruel and powerful tiger, Shere Khan, and learn the Law of the Jungle. This musical adaptation is packed with memorable characters, catchy songs and brilliant storytelling, offering rich opportunities for all school, college, youth-theatre and amateur groups looking for a 'fresh, ambitious and inventive' (The Times) version of a much-loved classic. It was widely seen on tour of the UK, produced by the Children's Theatre Partnership, Fiery Angel, and Royal & Derngate, Northampton, in 2018.

Leseprobe

THE JUNGLE BOOK

by

Jessica Swale

lyrics by

Jessica Swale and Joe Stilgoe

music by

Joe Stilgoe

based on the stories by

Rudyard Kipling

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Introduction

A Note on Casting Actors… and Puppets

Original Production Information

Characters

THE JUNGLE BOOK

About the Authors

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

Introduction

This is a story about adventure. About spirit and courage. About friendship and belonging. About asking big questions and searching for answers… and why sometimes that can be a very difficult journey to negotiate.

The Jungle Book is, in one sense, one small person’s quest to work out who they are – whether they fit in, when they’re different from everyone else, and how to make their way in a world where they feel like an outsider.

Yet, it is also a big story – the tale of a tribe, a great, big extended family, who must learn to love and respect each of their members as individuals if they are to survive as a community. That is why I was compelled to write this adaptation. Because The Jungle Book offers us a chance to think about the nature of inclusivity and diversity, and to celebrate it, in all its forms.

On a personal note, one of the reasons I jumped at the opportunity to adapt this book was because I believe in joyful storytelling, in sharing tales that allow us to laugh and, in this case, to delight in the kaleidoscope of creatures Kipling populated his jungle with. My dad was very ill when I was offered the commission, and at that time I remember he decided distinctly that he no longer wanted to watch anything bleak – he only wanted to watch life-affirming stories. I decided then that I wanted to make work that my dad would enjoy. Sadly, he never got to see this show, but the experience of walking that road with him made me appreciate the capacity of storytelling to bring joy and light into people’s lives, and so ever since I’ve made it my mission to make work that is heart-filled and hopeful. That doesn’t mean avoiding difficult themes – quite the opposite. The Jungle Book is full of challenging ideas, but it is its comic bones that allow us to delve into those darker moments, and still to find a brightness and optimism in the message. At a time when issues of acceptance, immigration and community are at the heart of our daily dialogues, I think it’s more important than ever to bring those conversations onto our stages, and to make sure we celebrate what a wonderfully diverse community we live in.

This version of The Jungle Book holds the importance of inclusivity in its heart. It is a show about kindness and acceptance. About celebrating the differences between the people of a community, in order to create a society that is multicoloured, multifaceted and multicultural. What’s not to love?

I hope you enjoy reading and performing it as much as we have.

With best wishes from the jungle –

Jessica Swale

2019

A Note on Casting Actors…

Fans of the original Jungle Book stories will notice that I have switched the gender of several characters, most notably Akela, Bagheera, Kaa and (depending on your choice) Mowgli. This was because, in the original book, there seemed to be very few females in the jungle. This was a reflection of the norms of the society Kipling was writing in, in which women tended to be occasionally seen and rarely heard at all. No more! So I hope you enjoy the greater diversity of this jungle. Do, however, feel free to cast whoever you like in any part. Whilst they are, for the most part, gendered, I believe that an actor can play anyone, any sex, any animal, so do as you please. In our original production Mowgli was played by a young woman, which I loved – but again, over to you.

…and Puppets

In terms of how to stage the animals, in our original production we used a mixture of costumes and puppetry to capture the animal nature of the characters. Most lead characters were played by actors with hints of the animals’ personalities in their outfits – rather than our attempting to make them appear as animals – ears, tails and all. Baloo, for example, was dressed as a down-and-out bar-propper-upper-cum-scarecrow. Bagheera was a slick chic mover and shaker. Shere Khan wouldn’t have looked out of place in an eighties punk band.

Other characters, who were defined by their movement and pack mentality, were given accessories to change the shape of their bodies and help them capture a different way of moving. The wolves walked on two legs but had dressed crutches in their hands to suggest their other two limbs, which they worked with in a dance-like way in order to capture a sense of group physicality.

For some characters, we used more traditional elements of puppetry. Birds, for example, were puppets on ropes and sticks. Kaa was played by an actor with four other actors manipulating her enormous body (constructed from a giant corrugated tube, rather like a slinky, courtesy of genius designer Peter McKintosh).

So as you can see, we picked and chose how to create animals depending on character. I am sure there are multiple ways of staging this production, so the more inventive you choose to be, the better. Enjoy!

J.S.

This stage adaptation of The Jungle Book was first performed at Royal & Derngate, Northampton, on 28 November 2017, before touring the UK. The cast was as follows:

KAA/GREY/MUSICIAN

Rachel Dawson

PERCUSSIONIST

Diogo Gomes

SHERE KHAN/MISHTI/MUSICIAN

Lloyd Gorman

HIRAN/MUGGER/MUSICIAN

T J Holmes

SAMAR/CHIL/DEER

Ruri James

RAKSHA/SNICKER

Avita Jay

MOWGLI

Keziah Joseph

LEELA/TWITSTER

Chipo Kureya

BALOO/MUSICIAN

Dyfrig Morris

BAGHEERA

Deborah Oyelade

AKELA/LARKER

Tripti Tripuraneni

Director

Max Webster

Set and Costume Designer

Peter McKintosh

Orchestrator and Musical Supervisor

Paul Herbert

Choreographer

Lizzi Gee

Lighting Designer

Charles Balfour

Sound Designer

Tom Marshall

Puppetry Director and Designer

Nick Barnes

Fight Director

Kate Waters

Associate Director

Neil Bull

Associate Choreographer

Iona Holland

Casting Director

Anji Carroll CDG

Costume Supervisor

Mary Charlton

Company Stage Manager

Matthew Hales

Deputy Stage Manager

Cat Pewsey

Technical Assistant Stage Manager

Geoff Fields

Assistant Stage Manager/Book Cover

Ruth McCague

Head of Wardrobe

Timi Baer

Sound No. 1

Ian Penrose

Sound No. 2

Harry Regan

Production Electrician

Stephen Andrews

Production Carpenter

Martin Riley

A Royal & Derngate, Northampton, Children’s Touring Partnership and Fiery Angel co-production

Characters

MOWGLI, a baby (puppet), then a human (m/f)

BALOO, the bear (m)

BAGHEERA, the panther (f)

SHERE KHAN, the tiger (m)

AKELA, the wolf leader (f)

RAKSHA, Mowgli’s wolf mother

HIRAN, Mowgli’s wolf father

RA, a wolf (m/f)

RU, a wolf (m/f)

KAA, the snake (f)

CHIL, the kite (m/f)

The wolf cubs

GREY (m/f)

LEELA (can double with Akela) (f)

MISHTI (can double with Hiran) (m/f)

SAMAR (can double with Baloo) (m/f)

The monkeys (can double with wolf cubs, etc., all m/f)

MUGGER

SNICKER

LARKER

TWITSTER

A WOMAN

Non-speaking animals – including a deer and a water buffalo – can all be puppets if you choose.

This play is suitable for an ensemble playing multiple roles.

Song lyrics are italicised.