The Jungle Book opening on Saturday 23rd July. For the first time since its opening, the theatre’s brand new forestage will be put to use, making the performance space even bigger and showing off the theatre’s facilities in their entirety.
The Jungle Book is directed by the Lyric’s Artistic Director Richard Croxford, who also directed The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Wizard of Oz, The Snow Queen and Charlotte’s Web for the theatre to critical acclaim.
Richard Croxford said, “We are having so much fun in rehearsals, the cast are an incredible bunch. There is so much colour, energy, fun and spectacle in this show. The cast act, sing, dance and will play all the music for the show live. Audiences are in for a real treat!
[caption id="attachment_26097" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Jungle Book will run in the Lyric Theatre from 20th July to 14th August."]
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“It’s a bold step for the Lyric to produce a summer musical on this scale, but it is obviously extremely important to us that we have a show on stage for our audiences as many weeks of the year as possible. It gives families something to do during the summer holidays and the more cultural product Northern Ireland has on offer in July and August, the better we can market ourselves as thriving tourism destination.”
Based on Rudyard Kipling’s collection of short stories, Neil Duffield has adapted all eight of the original tales based on Mowgli the man-cub into one tale and it is the perfect summer treat for little cubs aged six and above.
The Jungle Book has touched the hearts of generations. The Lyric Theatre’s new adaptation, with original music by Conor Mitchell, will transport audiences to a colourful and spectacular land where Mowgli the man-cub is learning the laws of the jungle aided by his loyal friends Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther. Along the way he encounters cheeky monkeys, his adoptive family of wolves, his mother, a dangerous cobra and the fiercest predator of them all, Shere Khan the tiger, his sworn enemy.
Director Richard Croxford has assembled a multi-talented cast including Pete Ashmore (National Theatre, Unicorn Theatre), Tony Hasnath, who last appeared in Belfast wrestling another Bengal Tiger as Pi in The Life of Pi, Gerard McCabe, a regular on the local theatre circuit who makes his Lyric debut, Sioned Saunders (Sunset Boulevard), Charlotte McCurry and Karen Rush. Charlotte recently appeared in the new Lyric’s opening production of The Crucible to critical acclaim, while Karen’s last Lyric appearance was as Glinda in the old theatre’s closing production of The Wizard of Oz.
Writer Neil Duffield added, “In his journey from boy to man, Mowgli has to overcome great obstacles and make difficult decisions. He learns that life is not easy and can sometimes throw up deeply contradictory situations. More than anything he has to find out which tribe, if any, he belongs to. In this sense, Mowgli’s story is universal.”
Neil has written more than sixty plays and adaptations, including The Snow Queen, which have been staged extensively in the UK and beyond. Composer and musical director Conor Mitchell from Lurgan has written 13 music-plays and has twice been writer on attachment with the National Theatre.
Gilly Campbell, Drama and Dance Officer, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented, “The Lyric has provided an outstanding cultural programme over the past 60 years, generating some of the most ground breaking and innovative theatre. It looks like that trend is set to continue in the new theatre with a very exciting season programme planned for the year ahead. We wish the Lyric every success and look forward to experiencing some of the best theatre Northern Ireland has to offer.”
The Jungle Book runs at the Lyric Theatre on the Northern Bank Stage from 20th July to 14th August 2011.]]>
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