Theatre review: Jungle Book, Everyman

A superb soundtrack also played a big part in this imaginative take on Rudyard Kipling’s classic story by Metta Theatre from the UK.

Transposing the tale from central India to the equally dangerous urban jungle of London, there isn’t an animal costume in sight. The closest we get is the faux fur wrap of the muscled street gangster Shere Khan. Baloo is a cleaner, the wolves a skateboarding crew, etc.

With minimal dialogue, we instead get a mix of rapping, street dance and incredible acrobatics. At times it’s probably a bit abstract for some of the smallies who’d be inclined towards a bit more ‘Bear Necessities’, but for anyone with an ear or eye for the fusing of disciplines that this truly contemporary piece offers, it’s a real treat.