Despite the decades of warning signs, the climate crisis has come. The waters have risen, and countries are being destroyed. A young girl is separated from her mother and swept away on the tide of a flood during a horrific storm. The human race faces possible extinction. This is the backdrop to Akram Khan’s Jungle Book Reimagined, a visually stunning dance theatre work that transforms the Heath Ledger stage into an expansive void of possibility.
A cast of 10 dancers embody Akela, Bagheera, Baloo, and the Bandar-log (the tribe of monkeys lead by King Louis in the Disney film). The central events will be familiar to anyone who has seen a single of the plethora film adaptations of “The Jungle Book” but there are some distinct updates to the story for a contemporary audience. For instance, Baloo is a Russian dancing bear and Mowgli the man-cub is now a female refugee. In place human archetypes to teach children about authority, now stand a cast of abandoned zoo animals to foster Mowgli’s understanding of animal life in the human world. There is no ‘law of the jungle’ because there is no jungle. Instead, Mowgli must learn to look inwards and realise the place of humankind within nature, not alongside it.
Jungle Book Reimagined. Photography by Ambra Vernuccio.
These necessary changes are successful in bringing the story forward for a 2024 audience. However, there are some elements that seem overlooked. Shere Khan has been omitted in this telling, and replaced by a nameless figure bent on hunting the animals- which, for me, muddies the timeline of Mowgli being left behind by the other humans. Not to mention, the setting seems to be a series of destroyed landmarks such as a British public library and underground train station. Meanwhile, in projected flashbacks, it’s clear that Mowgli has come from Kipling’s India- how far did she travel?! Moreover, the voice of Greta Thunberg is repeated throughout, hammering home the pertinence of Mowgli’s trials. Given Perth Festival’s recent severance from woodside I do question if, like Greta would have done, if Akram Khan’s ensemble was ferried to Australia by boat.
There are some jarring stylistic choices too. The story is told through pre-recorded dialogue, that the performers dance to as part of Jocelyn Pook’s original score. This in and of itself is not a problem and the dancers illustrate their speaking counterparts clearly. What’s surprising is the diversity of voice-types used to perform the characters. I’ve already mentioned Baloo’s Russian accent and it’s of no surprise that a majority of the speaking cast are English or British-Indian. But, like Sandy in Grease, there is just one Australian voice in the wolf pack that juts out like a swollen thumb. Call it cultural cringe but I can’t help but feel that the role Raksha would have been made stronger if she were re-cast (no hate to, I assume, Miranda Tapsell who I love).
Jungle Book Reimagined. Photography by Ambra Vernuccio.
The overall technical design is spellbinding. Through lighting, projection, and the sheer volume of the sound you are transported into Mowgli’s world. While the cast bring to life wolves, monkeys, a panther and a bear, animation is used to bring camels, elephants, birds and more into the fold. But there’s just one choice letting the ssside down and it’s Kaa the snake. I’m speaking here as someone who has done the BPA course at WAAPA and knows the innate thrill of lifting a box and pretending it’s floating in space. I GET IT. But the talent on stage and visual feast provided up until Kaa’s entrance had prepared me for an absolutely mesmerising display of skill, and sadly I was let down.
On the whole Jungle Book Reimagined is a successful and enjoyable work of dance theatre. It’s highly accessible and the burden of what could easily be a tiresome and didactic message is handled well. Beside its central thesis it brings to mind the high-quality works of previous festivals, the likes of which have been scarce since the 2020 COVID pandemic.
Jungle Book Reimagined is presented by Akram Khan Company as part of Perth Festival on at the Heath Ledger Theatre from Feb 9-17.