Disney's The Jungle Book Kids Kickstarts The Peoples Theatre's Children's Theatre 2020 Season
Celebrating Peoples Theatre’s 20-year anniversary being based at Joburg Theatre, Jill Girard and Keith Smith are thrilled to bring back one of the audience all-time favourites for their first production in 2020, Disney’s The Jungle Book Kids.
Disney's The Jungle Book Kids
The magic of the jungle comes alive on stage in spectacular fashion, providing children, parents and all those with a love of joy and laughter, the ideal family entertainment to kickstart the year.
Previews of Disney’s The Jungle Book Kids begin on 2rd March at Peoples Theatre with the official opening taking place on Sunday, 8th March. The show runs until Sunday 26th April 2020.
The jungle is soon going to be jumpin' with a jazzy beat! Specially adapted from the classic Disney animated film, Disney's The Jungle Book Kids features a host of colourful characters and your favourite songs from the movie.
Banished by the ferocious tiger, Shere Khan, a human boy named Mowgli and his panther friend, Bagheera, are on the run in the deepest parts of the jungle. On their journey, the two meet a sinister snake named Kaa, a herd of elephants and a giant bear named Baloo, who teaches them the swingin' musical rhythms of the jungle.
After surviving a dangerous encounter with a band of monkeys led by King Louie, Mowgli and Bagheera are forced to run for their lives. When Shere Khan returns, our heroes rally together to defeat Shere Khan in battle and peace is restored throughout the jungle.
Disney The Jungle Book Kids is directed by Jill Girard and Keith Smith, with Musical Direction by Coenraad Rall, Musical Staging by Sandy (Dyer) Richardson, Set and Lighting Design by Grant Knottenbelt and costumes Linda Wilson.
Baloo will be played by one of Peoples Theatres favourite performers, Luciano Zuppa, Baloo is an easygoing and fun-loving character who shirks at responsibility. He is a sleepy old bear who teaches Mowgli the law of the jungle and is well known for his song The Bare necessities during their adventure through the jungle Baloo eventually realises that the man village is the best place for Mowgli.
Bagheera is Mowgli's mentors and protector, and is tasked with getting Mowgli to the man village but he is met with many obstacles along the way, Bagheera will be played by the wonderful Thokozani Jiyane who was last seen playing the role of Marty the zebra in Madagascar Jr.
Kaa will be played by Bethany-Joy Jiyane and this will be her first performance for the Peoples Theatre. Kaa is surprisingly one of Mowgli's wise mentors and friend. who is also feared throughout the jungle for her mesmerizing "hunger dance". She plays her part in getting Mowgli to safety.
Bethany will also be playing the roles of Mrs Hathi and King Louie’s Wife.
Shere Khan, is a vicious man-eating Bengal Tiger who is the main villain and the archenemy of Mowgli and will be played by Clive Gilson. Peoples Theatre were very fortunate to work with Clive in Peter Pan in 2016 and are happy to have him back on their stage to bring alive the three characters he will be portraying (Shere Khan, Colonel Hathi and King Louie).
Says Jill Girard;
“Why the Jungle Book? 20 years at Joburg theatre! 30 years of Peoples Theatre! Disney’s The Jungle Book Kids has always been a special production for both Keith and myself! It is a show filled with warmth and laughter, a show about loyalty, kindness, friendship and courage. We can all relate to Mowgli and his adventure in the jungles in India!”
She continues;
“This is a story that has delighted generations of children and continues to do so, it is a story that comes to life on the stage as the audience become more and more involved in the exploits of Mewgli. It is the ideal show to introduce and bring young audiences into the magic of live theatre, and in so doing, encouraging a lifetime of theatre going.”
Disney’s The Jungle Book Kids opens at the Peoples Theatre at the Joburg Theatre Complex with preview performances from Monday, 2nd March. The official show opening is on Sunday, 8th March. The season runs until Sunday, 26th April.
Performance times are Mondays to Friday at 9am and 11am, Saturdays at 10:30am and 2.30pm as well as all Sundays and Public Holidays.
Ticket prices are R145 for general public or R100 for members of the Peoples Theatre kids Club.
Special school performances are available at R85 per learner plus for every 20 learners there is one complimentary ticket per educator - extra educators R85 each and all other accompanying adults are R105 each.
