THE MOWGLI STORIES

THE MOWAdapted from The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling A young man emerges from the jungle and leads a Forest Officer straight to where the man-eating tiger has hidden. He summons a wild nilghai at will, and even commands a horse some miles away to come to him. How is he performing these incredible feats? He says he grew up in the jungle, speaks all the animals languages and learned their laws. He says that the wolves use their speed and skill to act at his bidding. But can this be true? Mowgli?s REAL adventures, as told by Rudyard Kipling, are more extraordinary and a lot more exciting than any cartoon film! From the moment he escapes the clutches of the man-eating tiger Shere Khan and is accepted into the wolf pack, it becomes clear that Mowgli is no ordinary man-cub. From his narrow escape from the Bandarlog (monkey-people); to his fearless defence of Akela the pack leader using the Red Flower of man; to his triumphant destruction of Shere Khan, his bravery and wisdom mark him out as a leader among the Jungle people. But what will happen when he eventually encounters his own kind? Will the age-old, deeply ingrained follies of mankind, such as a love of material wealth, start to take root in his character? If he should choose to stay in the Jungle can it possibly hold any greater horrors than Shere Khan? Must Man always return to Man? Or can a man transcend the accident of his birth and become something greater? This fantastic book is one of the greatest children's classics of all time, in any language. It wears its wisdom lightly, and its use of the Jungle as a metaphor for human society is abundantly clear. Sadly it is, as Robert Hanks observed in The Independent: "One of that dispiritingly large group of children's classics that live constantly in the shadow of a Disney version." Kipling fell out of popular favour in the second half of the twentieth century because he was misrepresented as an apologist for imperialism. But the twenty-first century will surely see a huge resurgence in his popularity since the values he actually champions are those of responsibility, tolerance of one's neighbours even though they may be very different from oneself, and the wisdom to contribute towards and to live in harmony with one's environment and society rather than exploiting them both. 2009 marks Illyria's 18th open-air touring season. In 1997 it was the first UK open-air theatre company to tour annual productions of children's classics alongside its regular programme. It has been awarded Critic's Choice for both The Emperor's New Clothes and The Wind in the Willows, while The Reluctant Dragon, Alice in Wonderland, Robin Hood and Pinocchio all played to sell-out audiences and widespread acclaim. In this brand new production, Illyria uses an ensemble chorus and a highly stylised performance technique combining masks, puppetry and song to evoke the amazing world of Kipling's jungle. The show is funny, exciting and suitable for all ages 5+. The Full Story