Chard Local Kids Society for Music and Drama took centre stage with their latest production

The combined effort of the costumes, lighting, sound and set instantly transported us into the Jungle which all helped give this production colour, vibrancy and energy.

I had the pleasure of watching the show twice and experienced both teams of children for the double cast first act.

Bagheera (Olivia Coles and Issy Swarbrick) and Baloo (Sebastian Horne and Addison Coath) set the bar high when they opened the show, immediately engaging the audience with strong vocals and excellent stage presence.

Both Henry Colvin and Max Thompson captured the feisty, cheeky but endearing character of Mowgli.

The children successfully portrayed the creatures of the Jungle; Rachael Davis as the hypnotic hissing Kaa, accompanied by her coils, Luke Lifton as the confident and crazy King Louie and Ryan Healy’s/Kristian Hedditch’s amusing portrayal as the cantankerous and clumsy Colonel Hathi and his troop of elephants.

Hannah Bulgin conveyed the mysterious nature of Shere Khan, creating a powerful atmosphere of unease and tension; this was effective, and made a refreshing change from the stereotypical frightening portrayal that may have been expected.

The Jungle Chorus acted as narrators throughout the show, ensuring that the ‘fill ins’ were just as enjoyable and accomplished as the main songs.

Each musical number was polished both in terms of the singing and the choreography.

Musical Director Jemima Farey ensured that the words were clear and beginnings and endings of songs were sharp.

The harmonies and general polyphony of most of the songs came across well.

This, along with the tight and constantly varied choreography by Maria Farey made for a constantly captivating string of musical numbers with a fresh burst of energy from the children for each one.

Two songs particularly worthy of note were ‘Wanna Be Like You’ with the Jungle Chorus and monkeys, and ‘The Battle’ a full cast song with an amusing and cleverly choreographed dance break that showed all the animals working together to save Mowgli and chase Shere Khan out of the jungle.

The atmosphere in the audience as we all tapped our feet and clapped along to these well-known songs was invigorating.

The second half, although arguably less energetic, required a level of sophistication and sensitivity which the older members of the cast captured perfectly. Mandar (Charlie Orr-Ewing), his long-lost sister Anisha (Mia Bond) and mother Varsha (Matilda Riley) spoke clearly throughout, but with passion and emotion that made us feel like we were experiencing this momentous revelation alongside them.

The cheeky sisters (Jess Wyatt, Abi Parsons and Charlotte Mooney) provided a more light-hearted atmosphere from the intense scenes with Varsha and Rani, the wise woman of the village (Chloe Brook) and the charming relationship that blossomed between Mandar and Serena, the fourth sister, played with grace and elegance by Polly Farey.

Matthew Rymell captured the studious, love sick character of Hamid perfectly and Ben Rymell gave a very natural performance as the kind father Ravi.

Josh Harvey, Emily Bilboe and Tara Flanagan as Mandar’s adoptive family, although playing smaller parts, acted with emotion and were an important part of the story.

It was a real treat to have live music for the majority of the performance; the band played with an acute awareness of the performers, but demonstrated skill and passion during instrumentals.

Credit must be given to Jonathan Farey for the wonderful original songs. The Bollywood chorus number was delightful, with the dancing lights at the beginning leading to impressively authentic Indian dance sequences.

The Jungle Dance was also cleverly orchestrated, creating subtle links to the first half with the reappearance of the Jungle creatures, demonstrating just one of the many talents held by Maria Farey, who wrote this second half.

The show ended with a powerful and emotional song ‘I’ve Found My Way Back Home’ and it was clear to see that each member of CLOKS was proud to be part that family and they all appeared to be content and at home on the Guildhall stage.