show details

Interactive and improvised story-telling for children and adults alike. It took several of Rudyard Kipling’s classic Just So Stories and created new performances comprising of dance, song, narration, dialogue, puppetry and visual art. The order and style of storytelling changed with the whims of the audience who also contributed ideas, props and images to its creation.

The focus was kept on the animal stories: armadillos (how a tortoise and hedgehog outwit a jaguar to become the first two armadillos), elephants (how the curious elephant gets a new trunk with the aid of the hungry crocodile), a rhinoceros (how the rhino gets its skin by stealing cake), a kangaroo (how the proud kangaroo gets his long legs being chased by the yellow dingo) and a whale (how the whale gets his throat by swallowing a man who danced in his belly).

cast

Narrator | Samuel West
Singer | Rebecca Lea
Puppeteer | Poppy Burton-Morgan
Dancer | Jason Piper
Singer | Rehanna Kheshgi
Guitar | Alastair Putt
Tabla | Amardeep Seyan
Piano | Jessica Dannheisser

production team

Musical Director | Jessica Dannheisser
Director | Poppy Burton-Morgan
Choreographer | Jason Piper
Designer | William Reynolds
Costume Designer | Sophie Mosberger
Sound Designer | Martin McNulty
Assistant Director | Colin Warriner

‘Rebecca Lea sings with wide-eyed wondrous puzzlement as the baffled Painted Jaguar, and irrepressible naughty sweetness as the eponymous Elephant’s Child. Jason Piper relishes the inordinately prideful dance of the Kangaroo, spinning on his haunches with astonishing strength and speed, and almost stops the show with an immaculately-timed Slow-Solid Tortoise. Jessica Dannheisser’s score is whimsical and playful, beautifully suited to the arcane sophistication of Kipling’s idiosyncratic fable-language. And Rehanna Kheshgi’s singing of the sinuous music of the great grey-green Limpopo is assured, wise and witty. This is an intelligent, charming and endearingly rough-and-tumble bit of storytelling.’
Stephe Harrop in londontheatreblog.co.uk

audience feedback

‘You should really take your show elsewhere. It’s really good and I’m sure it would be really good for kids (school) to see it as it’s a mix of most of the arts.’

‘Music was great. Dancing was great. Singing was great. Improvisation was great.’

‘Loved the interaction with the audience and very relaxed atmosphere.’

‘Loved the bird and the elephant – beautifully executed.’