It is the Jungle Book, but not as you might know it. Indigo Moon Theatre’s latest production veers away from Disney’s song-filled retelling. Instead, this shadow puppet show looks back to Rudyard Kipling’s original Victorian stories.
“It is important that people do not expect the Disney version – there’s no singing in it,” said Anna Ingleby, Indigo Moon’s puppeteer.
“Disney’s was a masterpiece of its type, but there was no way we were going to go anywhere near that. What we wanted to do was look at the spirit of the original.”
Fearless and free, Mowgli the ‘ man-cub ‘ finds fun and friendship despite learning to live by the Law of the Jungle. Mowgli’s daring adventures in the dangerous world he inhabits, are brought to life by Indigo Moon Theatre with inventive shadow theatre, original music and colourful digital projection.
The Hull company’s show, which sees Anna tell the stories with 30 different puppets, follows the “positive” aspects of Kipling’s tales.
“When you reread the books, there is quite a lot of it that is of its time – there is killing, revenge and colonialism, which was something we did not want to dwell on,” she said.
“Instead we look at the co-operation between the characters in the jungle. One of the things we wanted to focus on was of people being ‘one blood’, which is used a lot in the book. The animals in it are a metaphor for humans.”
First published in the 1890s, the collected stories of the Jungle Book told moral tales through characters including Mowgli, a young boy raised by wolf cubs.
Alongside puppetry, Indigo Moon’s 50-minute production will use original music written by Haviel Perdana, who runs the company with Anna. Anna has lived and worked in London for 12 years, which is where she set up Indigo Moon.
The show has been directed by London-based puppeteer Steve Tiplady. Steve worked on The Firework Maker’s Daughter, a co-production by The Opera Group and Opera North, which premiered at Hull Truck Theatre this year.
“He is one of the few people who understand the potential of shadow,” said Anna.
“There’s a handful of about five companies working on shadow puppetry in this country, including us. People like ourselves and Steve are really establishing the art form in this country, and trying to develop it.”
Jungle Book
When: Thursday 22nd May at 10.30am (50 minutes with no interval)
Where: The Burnavon theatre, Burn Road, Cookstown.
Tickets: £4. Ages four and over.
Contact: Call the Burnavon Box Office or visit http://www.burnavon.com/theatre/whats-on/Jungle-Book-Indigo-Moon/info
Directed by Steve Tiplady
Performed by Anna Ingleby & Haviel Perdana
Original Music by Haviel Perdana
Characters designed by Susanna Samanek
Scenery by Haviel Perdana & Anna Ingleby