THIS touring production’s run in York may have come a week too late for half-term, but the stalls and dress circle were a cloud of blue school jumpers at Wednesday’s matinee and further performances this evening and tomorrow should draw family audiences.

Birmingham Stage Company first visited York with Stuart Paterson’s then new adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s story in July 2005 and now returns with a new director and cast, but the same ebullient and dramatic songs by BB Cooper and verdant jungle design and fabulous animal costumes by Jacqueline Trousdale.

This show is suitable for five-year- olds and upwards, with the emphasis on upwards, and all thoughts of Disney’s 1967 animated film should be dumped in the bin on arrival.

Instead, this is a darker, yet still humorous and enchanting telling of Kipling’s timeless story of man-cub Mowgli struggling for acceptance in a different world.

In Neal Foster’s scary, but not-too-scary production, Mowgli the baby is first seen in wide-eyed, wobbly-legged puppet form in a dark Indian jungle of howling wolf calls, with the prowling tiger Shere Khan (Benedict Martin) licking his lips at his imminent supper.

Matthew Weyland’s booming, lovable dim Baloo and Declan Wilson’s powerful Bagheera throw a protective paw around Steven Castelaz’s Mowgli, whose mop of curls, monkey gait and constant curiosity and desire for adventure make him instantly appealing in Castelaz’s professional debut. Humour is to the fore in his performance, but he can be touching too. As in 2005, the jungle world is enacted with wonderful animal movement, schooled by Peter Elliott, who worked on the film Gorillas In The Mist. As you would expect, the monkeys in particular are a joy.

The puppetry is another highlight, especially when Yasmin Kada’s slinky snake movements mirror those of Kaa with the assistance of fellow stick puppeteer Lyndsey Orr.

The Jungle Book is full of fear, wonderment, danger and discovery and, although the first half is a little too full of details that leave the audience restless, laughter breaks out in response to bouts of slapstick and the encouragement of crowd participation in pantomime tradition.


Box office: 0844 847 2322.