The Akram Khan Company will present the world première of Akram Khan’s Jungle Book Reimagined—a personal interpretation based on Rudyard Kipling’s original story—at Leicester’s Curve theatre.
It will be staged almost a year after being postponed because of COVID. In this dance-theatre production, Khan and his team reinvent the journey of Mowgli through the eyes of a climate refugee.
The cast includes dancers Lucia Chocarro, Tom Davis-Dunn, Thomasin Gülgeç, Max Revell, Matthew Sandiford, Pui Yung Shum, Fukiko Takase, Holly Vallis, Vanessa Vince-Pang and Luke Watson.
Script is by Tariq Jordan, dramaturgy by Sharon Clark and original score by Jocelyn Pook. Sound design is by Gareth Fry, lighting by Michael Hulls, visual stage design by Miriam Buether, video design and animation by YeastCulture with insight from film director Andy Serkis.
Akram Khan said, “we’re 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’ve forgotten our connection to our home, our planet.
“I believe that we must make changes from the grassroots up if we’re 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 to re-learn what we as a species have so conveniently forgotten.”
Jungle Book Reimagined will run at Curve from Saturday 2 until Saturday 9 April. A UK and international tour will follow, taking in cities including Birmingham and Edinburgh.