VVisual Story

This visual story is designed for visitors to our performance of JungleBook to help you prepare for your visit.

It contains lots of images along with helpful information about thetheatre and the performance itself.

ContentsAbout The Watermill Theatre.......................................p. 2What to expect during your visit.................................p. 4In the theatre...................................................................p. 6During the performance...............................................p. 7Useful information for the Relaxed Performance..p. 8Jungle Book: What you will see onstage.....................p. 9The Characters..............................................................p. 12What happens...............................................................p. 14

Introduction

Would you like a familiarisation visit?We can arrange for you to come to the theatre to look around the

space and find your seat before the day.

To organise this, or for any other questions, please call Matty on 01635 570934 or email outreach@watermill.org.uk

This visual story was created by Angharad Arnott Phillips.Production photos by Pamela Raith.

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About The Watermill Theatre

Welcome to The Watermill Theatre. There is parking at the theatre inour gravel car park. Blue badgeholders can park in the row closest tothe theatre. Please display your BlueBadge.

There are lots of animals that live atThe Watermill. You may see ducks, apheasant, or Connie & Hazel the dogs.

There is a bar where you can buydrinks and food.

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To get into the theatre for theperformance you will need to go tothe foyer. The foyer is a small areawhere you can wait before going intothe main auditorium of the theatre.

For the Jungle Book, the foyer is goingto be decorated in a jungle theme.

It can be quite noisy and busy in thefoyer before the performance and inthe interval.

You can buy a programme withinformation and pictures about theshow and the actors.

There are lots of hand sanitiserstations in different places aroundthe theatre.

You can use these to keep your handsclean.

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What to expect on yourvisit...

The ushers will be wearing the colourblack. They will also be wearing a mask orface shield. They work for the theatreand will be happy to answer yourquestions.

It will not always be the lady in thepicture but every usher has a badge soyou know you can ask them things. Theywill also help you find your seat in thetheatre.

Before the show starts an usher mayring a bell and help people find theirseats.

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If you need to go to the toilet, lookfor the signs or ask an usher fordirections.

Female toilet Male toilet Toilet for people whouse wheelchairs

When the theatre is busy it may bedifficult to find the toilet.

The red line on this map shows theroute from the theatre foyer to thetoilets.

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In the theatre

A printed ticket

An e-ticket

In the foyer is the box office wherepeople can collect their tickets. If youalready have your tickets you won'tneed to visit the box office.

You will either have an e-ticket or aprinted ticket. Your ticket will haveyour seat number on.

When you go into the theatre theushers will ask to see your ticket. Theywill then give you instructions to helpyou find to your seat.

This is what thestage will look likefor theperformance.

On the ground floor, on the way into the theatre, you will see the waterwheel. The wheel doesn't turn anymore but you will see the river below.

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During the performance

It can be noisy during the play. Youmay want to bring ear defenders orear plugs that you can wear duringthe show.

Part way through the show there will be aninterval. People will clap and the mainlights in the theatre will come on.

During the interval, snacks, drinks and icecreams will be on sale.

It’s okay if you feel happy or sadduring the show. Some people maylaugh or cry depending on howthey feel.

At the end of the show, everyonewill clap their hands to say thankyou to the actors.

When the clapping has stoppedand the actors have left the stage,this means the play is finished.

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Useful information for theRelaxed Performance day!

Chill-out areasIf you want to leave the auditorium at any time, there is a chill-out areayou can visit.

You can go there to relax if you need a little break before going backinto the theatre.

If you ask an usher, they will show you to this area.

Performance timesOur Relaxed Performance will be on Saturday 18th December and willaim to start at 2.30pm.

There will be two parts with a 20-minute break in the middle (calledthe ‘interval’).

The performance will finish at around 4.15pm.

Changes to the showCompared to other performances, there will be some changes to thelighting and sound to create a less intense environment.

Would you like a familiarisation visit?We can arrange for you to come to the theatre to look around the

space and find your seat before the day.

To organise this, or for any other questions, please call Matty on 01635 570934 or email outreach@watermill.org.uk

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Jungle Book:What you will see onstage

Sensory: soundSometimes there are sudden sound effects.

There are soundscapes during the performance to helpcreate the atmosphere. You may hear animal noises or thesound effects of cars.

There is live music in the show so you will hear the violin,recorder, keyboard, ukulele and synthetic drumkit.

Some of the characters speak or sing loudly or shout at theother characters. Some of the characters have loud, deepbooming voices. This is made louder because the charactersspeak into microphones.

To help you prepare for your visit, below we have detailed somethings to expect during the performance. If you’d prefer not toknow what’s going to happen then don’t read any further!

Sensory: atmosphereWe use ‘haze’ to make the stage misty and seem moremagical. Haze is safe to breathe and doesn’t have a strongsmell.

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Sensory: visualsSometimes the lights flicker and change colour.

When the monkeys come on stage, the lights are bright,colourful and flash. This is to show they are at a party.

There are puppets in the show. The Mowgli is represented bya puppet they are a young child.

The stage has a bright neon frame, which comes onthroughout the performance and can change colour.

There is a bright neon light with the words "You Belong Here,This Is Your Place..." in the centre of the stage, which comeson a different points throughout the play.

At the end of the play, glitter falls onto the stage.

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Social interaction: audience experienceSome of the audience seats are very close to the stage.

Sometimes characters will talk directly to the audience.Tabaqui does this a lot. Sometimes they also say what theyare thinking out loud.

There are a couple of moments of audience interaction.When Mowgli meets humans for the first time, they get theaudience to join in with a clapping rhythm. The Monkeys alsocome close to the audience and may pretend to take a selfiewith audience members (but they won't really take a photo).

Sometimes the actors use the aisles in the auditorium to playtheir musical instruments or to walk or run past the audience.

Sometimes characters feel lost, alone, sad, cross or scared.The music often matches these moods.

Sometimes characters behave badly and are rude or horribleto people. Shere Khan is fierce and is unkind to the otheranimals and Mowgli.

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The Characters

Shere KhanShere Khan is the lone tiger of the Seeonee Hills.He considers himself to be the rightful king,although this is not accepted by many of thejungle’s inhabitants. He was once caged andtreated poorly by humans, which has taught himto both fear and dislike them.

TabaquiTabaqui is a cheeky jackal, who lives between theworlds of humans and animals. He tells storiesand is always looking for food. Tabaqui is curious,very silly, and likes telling stories with the help ofhis ukulele.

MowgliMowgli is a human child who is lost in the Jungleas a baby and raised by the Wolves, Bagheera andBaloo. They are cautious of the world aroundthem, and curious about why they look differentto every other animal in the Jungle. They have a lotof love for Bagheera and Baloo, and are kinder toall the other creatures than most, includingTabaqui and Kaa.

Wolf Mum and DadThe Wolves find Mowgli as a baby lost in theJungle, and look after them as they grow up. TheWolves are extremely kind and care about theirpack above anything else.

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The MonkeysThe Monkeys are extremely mischevious and lovenothing besides partying, playing and looking cool.Their scene is a bit brighter and louder than theothers, and lots of fun! They live in abandonedtower blocks on the border of the City and theJungle.

KaaKaa is a solitary snake on the edge of society. Hehas few friends (if any) and is terriblymisunderstood, but he is at peace.

Bagheera (Baggy)Bagheera is a black panther, which makes hervery strong. She loves to read and is verystudious. She loves teaching Mowgli all about theJungle and has a deep connection to nature andall of its history and wisdom. She is caring andkind and has a very silly side when she is withBaloo.

BalooBaloo the bear always looks on the bright side oflife and finds joy in everything she does. She is aneternal optimist. She is loyal, upbeat and lots of fun. She is alsoalways hungry and loves nothing more than atermite and honey sandwich, followed by someice cream!

Councillor WolfThe head of the Wolf Council is a very sterncharacter, who we see deciding whether Mowgliwill be allowed to stay in the Jungle or not.Everything he does is for the best for the Pack.

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What happens?The story starts with Mowgli (as an adult) cooking at amarket stall. Tabaqui the jackal enters and begins telling astory – The Jungle Book!

Tabaqui story starts with the wolf pack about to hunt fortheir dinner, when Tabaqui passes, also hunting, and tellsthem Shere Khan the tiger will be hunting on theirgrounds for the next few nights. The wolves remind himthis breaks the Law of the Jungle.

A child’s cry is then heard, and a human child (the ‘mancub’) is discovered by the wolf pack. Tabaqui calls forShere Khan who arrives and demands for the child to begiven to him to eat. The wolves deny this, to take Mowgliin as their own. Shere Khan reminds them that when theman cub is grown enough to fend for themselves, they’llhave to be presented to the Wolf Council.

The cub spends years growing up and learning as a partof the Wolf Pack, but begins to question why they aredifferent. When they are old enough, they are broughtbefore the Wolf Pack Council. Mum Wolf names the childMowgli and says Mowgli is like one of her own cubs to her.Shere Khan then claims that the cub belongs to him asking of the jungle, and warns the head Councillor thathumans are a threat to them. As the Councillor is about tomake his decision, Baloo bursts in! Bagheera is closebehind.

They explain they will look after and bring up Mowgli, tomake sure no harm comes to the Jungle and the otheranimals.

Baloo believes that no harm can come from a humanchild, if raised well (and offers the wolf leader a piece ofher special steak recipe!). Mowgli, Baloo and Bagheerabecome a family. Shere Khan and Tabaqui make a secret,shady deal.

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Over the next few years, Baloo and Bagheera teachMowgli the ways of the Jungle. Mowgli continues towonder if there are other people that look like them.Bagheera promises to tell them in the future. One day,Mowgli gets cross about this and runs away.

Mowgli finds a fire, and meets Tabaqui for the first time.Tabaqui explains he is scared of the fire (red flower), butMowgli thinks it is beautiful and exciting. Tabaqui’s tailcatches fire and Mowgli puts it out, which means Tabaquibegins to see Mowgli as a friend. Suddenly Mowgli is flunginto the air and kidnapped by monkeys!

Tabaqui rushes to tell Baloo and Bagheera that Mowglihas been taken, but they don’t believe him, knowing he isfriends with Shere Khan. Baloo points out that if themonkeys have taken Mowgli, they might drag them to thecity where they might see other humans, but Bagheerastill doesn’t believe Tabaqui, who decides to save Mowglihimself.

The monkeys have taken Mowgli to a party, to be used asa decoration. The monkeys are fascinated by humans,and pretend to be them. Mowgli then spots other humansin the city.

INTERVAL

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Shere Khan is then seen having a nightmare about beingtrapped in a cage and having to dance for humans.

Whilst Mowgli is asleep, Baloo and Bagheera look for asafe place to hideout from Shere Khan. Tabaqui appearsand reveals that he was the one who asked Kaa for help,to save Mowgli, and then suggests Bagheera tells Mowgliwhere they come from. As they argue, Mowgli runs offtowards the city. Mowgli finds themself surrounded byattention and people, and becomes extremely frightened.

Later, Mowgli is back with Baloo and Bagheera, who aremaking dinner. They explain to Mowgli about their past,and how they came to be looking after Mowgli. They thenask Mowgli how they’re feeling, who explains they don’tfeel they fit in.

Baloo says that they don’t know the story of where Mowglicame from, but that she and Bagheera hope to seeMowgli build their own story starting from their time withthe wolves. A small fire is spotted near them, which theyare afraid of, and Baloo and Bagheera go to find somewater to put it out. Mowgli watches the fire, when ShereKhan finds them.

The monkeys start to fall asleep, tired out. Mowgli iswatching the monkeys around them and the humans faraway. The monkeys hear Kaa the python coming, and runaway. Kaa hypnotises them.

He gets them to free Mowgli, and plans to eat thehypnotised monkeys. Baloo and Bagheera burst in andare relieved to see Mowgli is okay. Mowgli asks about Kaaand Bagheera explains he’s nothing to do with them. Kaasays goodbye and the three head home.

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Mowgli decides that the Jungle isn’t ready for humans tolive in it as they are destructive. They decide to leave theJungle, which Baloo and Bagheera are sad about butunderstand is what Mowgli feels is the best thing to do.They ask Mowgli to tell the stories of the Jungle to thehumans so they can learn to be kind. Tabaqui and Mowglileave for the city together, as friends.

Years later, Mowgli is back at the market stall as an adultwhere they were at the beginning. Tabaqui is finishingtelling the story. He says that he often visits Mowgli, andthen Baloo joins them to share some food, after givingMowgli a big hug!

THE END

Shere Khan has Tabaqui with him and Mowgli realisesTabaqui has given away their location. As Shere Khanprepares to attack Mowgli, Bagheera and Baloo appearand fight Shere Khan, whilst Tabaqui and Mowgli runaway. Mowgli runs through the jungle and calls out forhelp from the other creatures.

Shere Khan overpowers Baloo and Bagheera, and tellsMowgli if they surrender then he’ll let them go. Mowglihowever has united all of the animals in the jungle, anduses the ‘red flower’ to cause a stampede and a large fire,which stops Shere Khan’s attack. The fire gets out of handand Tabaqui tries to stop it, as Mowgli realises they’vegone too far. Once the fire is out, Mowgli and Tabaquiapologise to each other. Mowgli forgives Shere Khan andthe two recognise they have similarities.

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