One Minute World Arts- Jungle Book reimagined: Rekindling A Classic Adventure
Jungle Book reimagined: Rekindling A Classic Adventure
In view of the climate catastrophe that threatens the globe, the British choreographer Akram Khan, out of a strong sense of urgency, decided to re-tell the story of The Jungle Book, a much celebrated masterpiece by Rudyard Kipling, through the lens of today’s children to highlight the “mankind V.S. nature” issue embedded in the original story, for the purpose of awakening the audience’s respect for the natural environment.
Jungle Book reimagined, Akram Khan’s re-interpretation of the classic, centers upon the journey of Mowgli, now a ClimateRefugee caught in a world devastated by the impact of climate change, where he would need to learn how to coexist with those animals survived. In this production, the story-telling is beautifully rendered in line-drawn animation, enriched by the powerful effect of an original score and the dancers’ expressive movements; thus, a brand new dance deriving from Kipling’s fascinating book that opens up the audience’s audiovisual experiences has been created, and the nature’s true “voices” get to be heard and comprehended.
Jungle Book reimagined, received critical acclaims after its premiere in the U.K. in April 2022, with one of the reviewers hailing it as “truly exceptional”. Akram Khan Company will tour the dance piece to different places throughout 2022 and into 2023; local audiences in Taiwan shall be able to enjoy the show in person at the National Taichung Theater in its Fall for Great Souls season.
《叢林奇譚》：阿喀郎重塑經典的醒世之舞
有鑑於氣候異常 的威脅籠罩全球，知名的英國編舞家阿喀郎汗（Akram Khan）決定從孩童的觀點著手，重新演繹魯德亞德・吉卜林（Rudyard Kipling）的經典作品《叢林奇譚》（The Jungle Book）；藉由凸顯故事中「人與自然」的議題，來喚醒觀眾對自然環境的尊重。
阿喀郎版的《叢林奇譚》（Jungle Book reimagined），將主角毛克利（Mowgli）設定為一名氣候難民，受困於被氣候變遷給破壞殆盡的世界裡，學著與那些從自然災害中倖存下來的動物們共存。而其舞台上的視覺呈現，則融合了多層次的動畫投影，搭配效果十足的原創音樂，以及舞者們淋漓盡致的肢體動作，帶給觀眾一場截然不同的感官體驗，並從中試著去聆聽、理解大自然真正的「聲音」。
《叢林奇譚》於今年4月在英國首演後廣受讚譽，有舞評稱之為「巧妙絕倫」；下半年，本舞作也將展開巡演，屆時臺灣觀眾將可於歌劇院的遇見巨人系列中，親睹這部充滿啟示的精采之作。
Photo Credit © Ambra Vernuccio
Sources:
https://www.ft.com/content/9983ca14-a18c-465b-af71-a6cbd464d807
https://www.akramkhancompany.net/productions/jungle-book-reimagined/
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/apr/08/akram-khans-jungle-book-reimagined-review