Robert Wilson turns new and hypnotic pages of The Jungle Book, celebrating the spirit of childhood in the wild.

For Robert Wilson, it is the eyes that think and the body that listens, and this is the case for Mowgli, the boy raised by wolves, surrounded by animals that were not all sweetness and light. Robert Wilson accepted a commission proposed by Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota who wanted a work for all age groups, so Robert Wilson chose The Jungle Book, with tales well suited to his artistic palette where shade lives only with light. Such is the case of Good and Evil in the telling a story of initiation and presented as twelve tableaux in song and dance, far from any nostalgic imagery, and following the rhythm of the lively music of CocoRosie. Hathi the narrator with elephant ears is dressed in white in a style dating from the colonial era, the period of Rudyard Kipling who was born in India when it was a British colony. Bagheera is a diva in a super-sexy fitted gown, while Shere Khan the tiger is dressed in a bad-boy rock star suit with a fluorescent orange shirt. Fantasy marks the work of music theater merging into a forest of signs, ranging from delicately formed shadow play to the rough pop of a spotlight, the flexible movement of a butterfly net, and the rigid form of telegraph poles beneath an empty sky. With his magnificent team brought together again, Robert Wilson tells the story, showing how humans and animals live together in nature, in that very world of nature now under threat.

BASED ON RUDYARD KIPLING’S JUNGLE BOOK
DIRECTION, SET AND LIGHTING DESIGN ROBERT WILSON
MUSIC AND LYRICS COCOROSIE

COSTUMES JACQUES REYNAUD
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR CHARLES CHEMIN
ASSOCIATE SET DESIGNER ANNICK LAVALLÉE-BENNY
ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGNER MARCELLO LUMACA
COSTUMES COLLABORATOR PASCALE PAUME
SOUND DESIGN NICK SAGAR
MAKE UP DESIGN MANU HALLIGAN
MUSIC DIRECTION DOUGLAS WIESELMAN

WITH WILLIAM EDIMO, NAÏS EL FASSI TABAQUI, YUMING HEY, ROBERTO JEAN, HEZA BOTTO, LAETITIA LALLE BI BÉNIE, EMMA LIÉGEOIS, JO MOSS, OLGA MOUAK, FRANÇOIS PAIN-DOUZENEL MUSICIANS TAKUYA NAKAMURA, ASYA SORSHNEVA, TEZ, DOUGLAS WIESELMAN

MUSICIANS VINCENT LETERME alternating with TAKUYA NAKAMURA, ASYA SORSHNEVA, TEZ, DOUGLAS WIESELMAN

PRODUCTION THÉÂTRE DE LA VILLE-PARIS.

COPRODUCTION Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg – Les Nuits de Fourvière, Festival international de la Métropole de Lyon – Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, Düsseldorf – Factory International, Manchester – Teatro della Pergola, Florence – deSingel, Anvers - Festspielhaus St. Polten (AT)

IN ASSOCIATION WITH EDM PRODUCTIONS-ELISABETTA DI MAMBRO.

World premiere on April 26th 2019 at the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg

Le Monde

"As to be expected, it is beautiful, often intriguingly beautiful, breathtaking".

Le Figaroscope

"Jungle Book is much more than a colourful picture book, a real life pop-up book. It is a catchy and groovy musical thanks to the songs and compositions of CocoRosie (...)".