Jungle Book reimagined

Act I

Sea levels are rising; waters dominate land; and humans scramble for their survival in search for higher ground. A young child finds herself separated from her family and ends up in a flooded city, deserted by its human inhabitants. Monuments have been uprooted and rearranged, and animals of all shapes and sizes have congregated here and formed an uneasy alliance as they try to live with this new unreliable climate. They have claimed this cityscape as their own – marking their territories in libraries, supermarkets, governmental buildings, and even places of worship.

The child is discovered by the wolf pack led by Raksha and Rama. Raksha wants to keep the child, but Rama insists that humans bring danger, and they must destroy it. Raksha protects Mowgli and presents her to an animal council, led by Akela, a dog, and with the watchful eyes in the sky of Chil, the kite. The animals speak of a mysterious hunter, a human who has been cast out by his own kind. The hunter has returned to these lands and keeps the animals in constant fear. After much deliberation, the child is accepted by the council and the naming process begins: Mowgli. Mowgli is set to work straight away; she must prove her worth and help the animals in their search for food. Maybe human instincts are just what they need.

Mowgli finds herself in the company of Bagheera, a kidnapped albino panther who grew up in a palace, and Baloo, an escaped dancing bear. However, on their quest for food, Mowgli is taken by the Bandar-log lab monkeys who have had all kinds of experiments done on them. Through cunning, the Bandar-log outwit Baloo and Bagheera and steal Mowgli. Bagheera and Baloo must now find an animal capable of striking fear into the Bandar-log. After all, they are not animals of the tree world. They seek out Kaa, a rock python, who has escaped from captivity but still lives with the traumas of a lifetime stuck behind a glass viewing screen.

Act II

Mowgli is taken to the Bandar-log’s lair, a ransacked governmental building. The Bandar-log are no strangers to humankind; they come from testing laboratories – and regurgitate commercial jingles and political rants they heard from their cages. They listened, copied, and aped the humans, but now they want to become them. Mowgli is the missing piece of the puzzle. A human child to teach them how to fully become human.

With the help of Kaa, Baloo and Bagheera rescue Mowgli from the hands of the Bandar-log just at the moment she is about to help them create fire: the most feared possession of mankind. Animals can’t control this. Mankind can.

When Mowgli is saved, the trio return to the council where Hathi, the leader of the elephants, tells them of their ancient tale, back to the time when the jungles they once knew were created.

But when the hunter finally breaches their territory, and shoots down Chil, the animals know that this spells the beginning of the end of the peace they have forged together. Mowgli, remembering her mother’s words throughout her journey, decides to stand up and fight for her newfound friends and seeks out the hunter to end his savagery.

I want to dive into the myths of today, and children’s stories of tomorrow. Hence, I want to find a way to take a known, familiar story and observe it through the lens of today’s children, my children, our children, who are and will become our present and future storytellers.

Why?

The Jungle Book’s story has always been close to me. Not only because I had played the role of Mowgli in an Indian dance production, as a young boy, but more because of the three deep lessons it held within it, that I have since carried with me throughout my life. The lessons of commonality between species, the binding interdependence between humans, animals and nature, and finally, a sense of family and our need to belong.

We are now living in unprecedented and uncertain times, not only for our species but for all species on this planet. And the root cause of this conundrum is because we have forgotten our connection to our home, our planet. We all inhabit it, we all take from it, and we all build on it, but we have forgotten to return our respect for it.

So, I believe that we must make changes from the grass roots up, if we are to see a brighter future. And so I feel compelled to share the story – lovingly known as The Jungle Book – with children and adults from all cultures, in order to re-learn what we, as a species, have so conveniently forgotten. And I believe that the strongest, and deepest way to tell this story is through the magic of dance, music and theatre.

What?

This production traces the original story by Rudyard Kipling, but this particular version is very much my own interpretation of the original. Mowgli and all the known characters from the original are in this new version, with a new original score.

How?

I am extremely conscious of the deep messages within the original work. But I am also aware of the potency and relevance of these messages for today’s world. And I have always believed in actions before words. So, I decided to approach this production with a direct action towards climate change.

Climate change is and will continue to affect all living creatures on this beautiful planet. So then how do we create a work that uses less sets, so we can travel lighter when touring? Since lockdown, I have come to appreciate technology, in ways that I did not before COVID-19. And that’s simply because it has allowed me to stay connected with my loved ones, my artistic team and the wider world. Without the use of technology, I would have felt truly alone.

And so, for Jungle Book reimagined, the stage is nearly empty – there is no traditional physical set. To achieve this, I explored the use of technology, projections and film as the non-physical set. We must not forget that most often, great storytelling can be told by the simplest of tools. Our bodies, our voices, and our conviction in that story.

By Akram Khan

Director and Choreographer: Akram Khan
Creative Associate and Coach: Mavin Khoo
Playwright: Tariq Jordan
Dramaturgical Advisor: Sharon Clark
Composer: Jocelyn Pook
Sound Designer: Gareth Fry
Lighting Designer: Michael Hulls
Visual Stage Designer: Miriam Buether
Art Direction and Director of Animation: Adam Smith @YeastCulture
Producer and Director of Video Design: Nick Hillel @YeastCulture
Rotoscope Artists and Animators: Naaman Azhari, Natasza Cetner, Edson R Bazzarin
Rehearsal Directors: Nicky Henshall, Nico Monaco (Tour), Andrew Pan, Angela Towler
Dancers: Maya Balam Meyong, Hector Ferrer, Harry Theadora Foster, Filippo Franzese, Bianca Mikahil, Max Revell, Matthew Sandiford, Elpida Skourou, Holly Vallis, Jan Mikaela Villanueva, Lani Yamanaka
Assistant Animators: Nisha Alberti, Geo Barnett, Miguel Mealla Black, Michelle Cramer, Jack Hale, Zuzanna Odolczyk, Sofja Umarik
Voice Actors: Tian-Lan Chaudhry, Joy Elias-Rilwan, Pushkala Gopal, Dana Haqjoo, Nicky Henshall, Su-Man Hsu, Kathryn Hunter, Emmanuel Imani, Divya Kasturi, Jeffery Kissoon, Mavin Khoo, Yasmin Paige, Max Revell, Christopher Simpson, Pui Yung Shum, Holly Vallis, Jan Mikaela Villanueva, Luke Watson, 3^rd year students of Rambert School (2021-2022)
Producing Director: Farooq Chaudhry
Executive Director: Isabel Tamen
Project Manager: Mashitah Omar
Technical Director: Zeynep Kepekli
Technical Manager: Michael Cunningham
Touring Production Manager and Prop Maker: Marek Pomocki
Lighting Engineer: Stephane Dejours
Sound Engineer: Enrico Aurigemma
Video Technician and Projectionist: Matthew Armstrong
Technical Stage Manager: Samuel Collier

Co-produced by Curve Leicester, Attiki Cultural Society – Greece, Birmingham Hippodrome, Edinburgh International Festival, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay Singapore, Festspielhaus St. Pölten, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance – Chicago, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts – New York, Maison de la Danse / Pôle européen de création – Lyon, National Arts Centre – Canada, New Vision Arts Festival – Hong Kong, Orsolina28, Pfalzbau Bühnen – Theater im Pfalzbau Ludwigshafen, Romaeuropa Festival, Stanford Live / Stanford University, Teatros del Canal – Madrid, théâtre de Caen, Théâtre de la Ville – Paris

The technical adaptation of Jungle Book reimagined is kindly supported by Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg

With the support of Garfield Weston Foundation, Genesis Foundation, Angela Bernstein CBE

Supported by Arts Council England

Special thanks to Tom Davis-Dunn, Pui Yung Shum, Luke Watson, Thomasin Gülgeç, Lucia Chocarro, Fukiko Takase, Vanessa Vince-Pang, Tina and Richard Fagan, Sue Buckmaster, The Coronet Theatre, University of Roehampton, Mr. & Mrs. Khan, Yuko Khan, Sayuri, Kenzo & Ayana Khan, Amanda Britton, Darren Ellis, Sharon Watson, Ann David, Anda Winters, Ella Roberts, Anna CY Chan and all the students of Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts that took part in creation rehearsals, and all the 3^rd year students of Northern School of Contemporary Dance (2021-2022) and 3^rd year students of Rambert School (2021-2022) who worked on the R&D residency with Akram.

Jocelyn Pook’s music © Copyright 2022 Chester Music Limited

Music recorded by
Singers: Tanja Tzarovska, Melanie Pappenheim, Sushma Soma, Sohini Alam, Voya Zivkovic
Musicians: Jocelyn Pook (piano, viola, voice and keyboards), Mulele Matondo (guitar and sanza), Belinda Sykes (shawm and gralla)
Recording and Mixing: Steve Parr

“How Dare You?”, Greta Thunberg, recording property of United Nations
“Blah, blah, blah”, speech by Greta Thunberg

Disclaimer
The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government provides liaison and technical support to the project only. Any views/opinions expressed by the project team are those of the project only and do not reflect the views of the Cultural Affairs Bureau.