The Jungle Book at Liverpool Playhouse

February 21, 2018

In a bid to cut down on the amount of ‘stuff’ in our house, at Christmas we’d asked for things to do with the boys rather than a present. I know it’s quite a common thing for parents to do now and it works perfectly for us – we saw a brilliant panto at Christmas with their Grandparents and my Mum bought us all tickets to The Jungle Book which was on at The Playhouse in Liverpool this half term.

The boys are just getting to the right age now to actually sit through a show at the theatre and it was lovely to take them to see something different. Even though it is aimed at children it was just as enjoyable for me, in fact we’d gone in a big family group with more adults than children and all of us loved this adaptation. It’s aimed at six plus but we went with my six year old and four year old twins who happily sat through it all. The whole thing was enchanting – from the colourful costumes and puppets, to the lively music and original songs that were belted out with such passion from the cast. Even with all that, it’s truly the story line that draws you in.

It’s been adapted for the stage from the Rudyard Kipling book and is quite different from the old Disney film that most children will be familiar with. However, that didn’t put my boys off at all as they were totally transfixed. It’s quite hard to take a book from such a different time and make it relevant to us now but the writer, Jessica Swale, has done it perfectly. The usual Jungle Book characters are all in there and the story line still follows Mowgli who is simply a child in the wolf pack. The part seems to be gender neutral and is played beautifully by Keziah Joseph who stole the show for my six year old. She had the most wonderful presence on stage and I could see he was captivated by her songs. This stage version is all about being happy in your own skin, finding a place that you belong and a family you can be a part of whether they are the same as you or not – it’s full of messages about community, acceptance, respect and it tops it all off with a truly heart-warming ending.  

The Playhouse is a great theatre to visit with small children as it isn’t too large or overwhelming which also means you can see the action on the stage close up. As it’s a smaller theatre the tickets are very reasonable and it’s easy to get to being right in the centre of Liverpool. During school holidays they try and put on a family show so it’s worth checking regularly to see what is coming up. We have already booked tickets for George’s Marvellous medicine at Easter and it’s something we are going to try to do more often!

The Jungle Book has finished it’s run in Liverpool but is still on tour and is coming back to the North West in May at The Lowry. It’s great fun and a real imaginative take on such a classic tale.

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3 Comments

  • Notmyyearoff

    I didn’t even really know the playhouse existed in Liverpool but this looks like a bit of a magical trip for a 6 year old. My Z would love this (probably bit much for our toddler at the moment!). We keep meaning to do a bit of a day trip to Liverpool to go to their Mattel play!

    March 4, 2018 at 7:41 am Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      It’s a lovely theatre to go to with little ones as it isn’t quite as big but the Everyman is also amazing, another little one and The Royal Court has just been done up and looks fab. They generally have things a little cheaper than the big theatres – a good excuse to visit and then you could squeeze in Mattel Play too!

      March 9, 2018 at 11:09 am Reply
  • Peter

    She”s simply incredible. And so is Mudbound, undoubtedly one of my favorite films this year. I”ve seen it twice thus far, one when Netflix released it back in November and one last week when it was released in theatres in my home country. This is a magnificent film and a sweeping, epic cinematic experience first and foremost that deserves to be seen in the largest screen possible. I”m glad Netflix gives the chance to so many films to be seen by a wider audience but I”d pay to see them in a movie theater as well. There”s something utterly unique a cinematic experience has to offer (despite common flaws in some theatres) and I wish Mudbound had a regular release, even for a short period of time in most countries. It absolutely deserves it.

    March 7, 2018 at 9:16 am Reply
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