The Jungle Book - Oldham Coliseum Theatre

The Jungle Book
Friday 3 – Sunday 19 April 2020
An Oldham Coliseum Theatre Production
Presented in arrangement with Children’s Theatre Partnership / Fiery Angel (London)
By Jessica Swale
Music by Joe Stilgoe
Based on the stories by Rudyard Kipling
Directed by Sarah Punshon
Designed by Katie Scott
Musical Direction by Tayo Akinbode
Movement Direction by Stuart Bowden

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Press Night: Tuesday 7 April, 7.30pm
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This Spring Oldham Coliseum presents a musical adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s famous story The
Jungle Book, a perfect treat for the whole family to enjoy.

Join Mowgli the man cub, his wolf pack and his friends Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther in this
classic coming of age story; packed with memorable songs, humour and brilliant storytelling. Can Mowgli
outwit the cruel and powerful tiger Shere Khan? With the help of his friends he learns the law of the jungle
and confronts the dangers in his path.

The Jungle Book is the first family show that the Coliseum has produced outside of the festive season for
almost 20 years. The theatre is famous for its annual traditional pantomime and is building upon this with
another brilliant theatre experience for all ages this Easter. Performed by a cast of seven talented actors
The Jungle Book explores the universal themes of family, belonging and identity. The design of the
production is a meeting of worlds, set in an ‘urban jungle’ playground upon which the cast will climb and
swing throughout the play.

The stage-musical of The Jungle Book was adapted by Olivier award winning writer Jessica Swale with
songs by Joe Stilgoe and will be directed at the Coliseum by former Artistic Director of The Dukes,
Lancaster Sarah Punshon with Musical Direction by Tayo Akinbode and Movement Direction by Stuart
Bowden.

The cast cast features Tamara Verhoven Clyde as Akela the wolf leader, Kaa the snake and Leela the
wolf cub, Ebony Feare as Mowgli’s wolf mother Raksha, Matthew Ganley as Shere Khan the tiger, Neil
Hurst as Baloo the bear, Ani Nelson as Bagheera the panther, Jason Patel as Mowgli and Tarek Slater
as Mowgli’s wolf father Hiran and Mugger the monkey.

Tamara Verhoven Clyde plays Akela the wolf leader, Kaa the snake and Leela the wolf cub. Tamara is a
recent graduate of East 15 Acting School.

Ebony Feare plays Mowgli’s wolf mother Raksha. Ebony’s recent credits include Treasure Island at
Octagon Theatre Bolton, The Winter’s Tale at National Theatre and Babe at Mercury Theatre Colchester.

Matthew Ganley plays Shere Khan the tiger. Coliseum audiences will recognise Matthew from his
performances in the Coliseum’s productions of Bread & Roses, The Ladykillers and Our Gracie. Matthew’s
other credits include the national tour of Around The World in 80 Days, Prince and the Pauper at New Vic
Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Maggie May at Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre.

Neil Hurst plays Baloo the bear. Neil began his career in comedy as a song and dance act supporting the
likes of Bruce Forsyth, Bob Monkhouse, Ken Dodd and Cannon and Ball. His theatre credits include the
national tours of Early Doors Live and Fat Friends the Musical.

Ani Nelson plays Bagheera the panther. Ani’s recent credits include: Little Miss Burden at The Bunker
Theatre in London, The Trick at The Bush Theatre in London and Abigail’s Party at Hull Truck Theatre.

Jason Patel plays Mowgli. Jason grew up nearby to Oldham in the neighbouring borough of Tameside, he
studied at Ashton Sixth Form College before attending drama school in London. Jason’s credits include
The Famous Four and a Half Go Wild in Thetford Forest for Eastern Angles and Peter Pan at The Dukes,
Lancaster.

Tarek Slater plays Mowgli’s wolf father Hiran and Mugger the monkey. Tarek’s recent credits include Fell
for Edgeways Productions, Planet Caravan for People Zoo Productions and Down Ashton for Octagon
Theatre Bolton. In 2016 Tarek was nominated for Best Actor at the Manhattan Short Film Festival for his
role in the short film Hope Dies Last.

Jessica Swale is an Olivier Award-winning British playwright, theatre director and screenwriter. In 2016
her play Nell Gwynn won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Alongside The Jungle Book, her stage
adaptations include: Sense and Sensibility, Far From the Madding Crowd (Watermill Theatre,
London), The Secret Garden and Stig of the Dump (Grosvenor Park, Chester).

Joe Stilgoe is an internationally acclaimed singer, pianist and songwriter. As a recording artist he has
released 5 critically lauded albums, three of which have topped the UK Jazz chart. As composer he has
written music and lyrics The Midnight Gang, an adaption of the David Walliams’s novel, which opened at
Chichester Festival Theatre in 2018.

Director Sarah Punshon is Artistic Director of One Tenth Human, an innovative arts-science company
creating interactive adventures, and was Artistic Director of The Dukes, Lancaster from 2017-19. Her
previous productions include Cinderella: A Fairytale, Peter Pan, The Three Musketeers and Aladdin for
The Dukes, Lancaster; Educating Rita for The Dukes Lancaster and New Vic Theatre, Partners in Crime
for Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and The Box of Photographs for Polka Theatre, which was nominated for
the Off West End Award for Best Production for Young People.

Tayo Akinbode is a composer and Musical Director for theatre, film, TV, radio, circus and community
projects. His recent work includes: Junkyard for Headlong Theatre Company; Dick Whittington for Theatr
Clwyd and Sonnet Sunday, Henry IV pt 1, pt2 and Henry V for Shakespeare’s Globe.

Perhaps best known for the Disney animated version, The Jungle Book was originally a collection of short
stories written by Rudyard Kipling in 1894. Kipling was born in Mumbai (or Bombay as it was called then)
in 1865. When he was five he was sent to England to live with a foster family in Southsea, but he returned
to India when he turned 16 and became a journalist, writing poems and stories in his spare time.

Oldham Coliseum Theatre’s production of The Jungle Book is sponsored by Jigsaw Homes.

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Additional Activity

Alongside the musical on stage Oldham Coliseum Theatre is offering family workshops Jungle Fun:
Family Activities on Monday 6 & Friday 17 April, where young people and their grown-ups have the
opportunity to make an animal mask and bring jungle characters to life through immersive drama games.

The theatre is also running Jungle Trail: Guided Walk with The Young Rep Company on Saturday 18
April, for which tickets have sold out.

The theatre has teamed up with Waterstones in Oldham’s Spindles Town Square Shopping Centre to offer
10% off the book of The Jungle Book for anyone who has booked tickets to the Coliseum’s musical of The
Jungle Book (proof of Coliseum ticket purchase required).

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Notes to Editor:

The Jungle Book runs from Friday 3 – Sunday 19 April 2020 at Oldham Coliseum Theatre.

Tickets can be booked on 0161 624 2829 or at www.coliseum.org.uk
Link to production page: https://www.coliseum.org.uk/plays/the-jungle-book/

Oldham Coliseum Theatre’s production of The Jungle Book is sponsored by Jigsaw Homes.

For further press information, please contact Shelly Ramsdale on 0161 785 7012 or
shellyramsdale@coliseum.org.uk

Oldham Coliseum Theatre is a cultural and educational charity that works with over 150,000 individuals
per year.

The Coliseum has a rich history in Greater Manchester dating back to 1885. It provides a wide variety of
distinctive theatre performances and participatory activities for people from all communities in Oldham,
Greater Manchester and beyond. It creates original productions each year which are presented at the
Coliseum and on tour. Intrinsic to the town’s on-going regeneration, the theatre works with its local
communities and young people to develop creative programmes to facilitate learning, engagement and
community cohesion.

www.coliseum.org.uk
Twitter @OldhamColiseum
Facebook @oldhamcoliseumtheatre
Instagram @OldhamColiseum

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Images:

A high-resolution JPEG of the artwork for The Jungle Book is available to download from Dropbox via:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rstuvfsgyu4wrnu/Oldham%20Coliseum%20Theatre%20presents%20The%20J
ungle%20Book.jpg?dl=0

Rehearsal photographs will be available from Wednesday 25 March
Production photographs will be available from Monday 6 April

Cast:

 Tamara Verhoven Clyde            Ebony Feare           Matthew Ganley              Neil Hurst
    - Akela/Kaa/Leela               - Raksha             - Shere Khan                - Baloo

        Ani Nelson                Jason Patel             Tarek Slater
        - Bagheera                  - Mowgli             - Hiran/Mugger

Production team:
Director – Sarah Punshon
Designer – Katie Scott
Musical Director - Tayo Akinbode
Movement Director – Stuart Bowden
Lighting Designer – Jason Taylor
Sound Designer – Adam McCready
Deputy Stage Manager (On the Book) – Caroline Bowen