Akram Khan

Age suitability: all generations of audiences from 10 upwards.

Embedded in the roots of Jungle Book is the deep threat that mankind poses towards nature. How could we explore a near future world that nature is hungrily starting to reclaim? A world where human relationship with the wild is changing and the interconnectivity between animal and human is becoming more complex and distrustful.

Akram and his team will reimagine the journey of Mowgli through the eyes of a refugee caught in a world devastated by the impact of climate change. They will tell the story of how this child will help us to listen again, not to our voices but to the voices of the natural world that we, the modern world, try to silence.

A stellar creative team will be working on this reimagining of Jungle Book, performed by an ensemble of ten dancers, with a text by Tariq Jordan, dramaturgy by Sharon Clark, to an original score by Jocelyn Pook. Bringing together lighting by Michael Hulls, visual stage design by Tom Scutt, animation by Naaman Azhari, projection by YeastCulture, and the insight of film director Andy Serkis, the visual technology will turn the stage into a magical world that dives into the myths of today.

Jungle Book reimagined will speak to all generations as a step to remind, to relearn, to reimagine a new world together.

I feel compelled to share the story – lovingly known as The Jungle Book – with children and adults from all cultures. I want to dive into the myths of today, and children 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.

Akram Khan