Jungle Book Reimagined at Birmingham Hippodrome

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Fri 29 Apr 2022 - Sat 30 Apr 2022

A vivid new retelling of Rudyard Kipling's much-loved classic makes it more relevant to young audiences in Akram Khan's Jungle Book Reimagined with a theme of climate change.



The show featuring dance and drama is at Birmingham Hippodrome for only two days from Friday April 29 to Saturday April 30. This time around Mowgli's journey is as a climate refugee but still has the essence of the original, in terms of the need to belong and bond with others.

Ten dancers on stage will bring the tale to life in a creative way. While there is much that will be familiar, some of the newer elements have a deeper message of respecting the natural world.

Director Khan went back to Kipling's Jungle Book where he found inspiration. "I delved deeper for my own production, said Khan."I started to realise it's a much bigger book. Disney took one part of it – Mowgli – but The Jungle Book is steeped in lots of different narratives that interweave through and around each other."

He added: "Kipling did publicly say that it was taken from a lot of the traditional myths from India. He interweaved stories of his own, but he also took a lot of inspiration from traditional Indian myths."



Young writer Tariq Jordan helped with the script to add a freshness and relevance for younger audiences." I love the way he thinks and I wanted to work with a young writer - a new writer, " added Khan. "I think it is really important to have the voice of today and so working with someone who's sensitive and very conscious of the politics of the world right now was key."

He explained: "For instance, if you talk to my children, they're even more connected to climate change because they're the ones who are inheriting our mistakes. The Jungle Book felt very relevant."

For Khan, this show is something he wants audiences to think about long after leaving the theatre:" I feel that ancient tribes – those that still exist in the Amazon and Africa – are so connected to the earth, they are so connected to nature and they are constantly aware. They were aware of climate change before our scientists told us, because they are living within nature."

He added: "Really the piece is about our lack of listening but also the sadness of not being able to listen and how important it is to be able to listen to the earth. It's one of our biggest mistakes. Climate change is here and we were aware of it a long time ago."

Akram Khan's Jungle Book reimagined runs at Birmingham Hippodrome on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 April followed by an international tour.

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!date 29/04/2022 -- 30/04/2022
%wnbirmingham