When two characters from different times, genres and authors come together, they have no choice but to rewrite themselves. In this production from Pucqui Collaborative, Puck from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Mowgli from Kipling’s The Jungle Book meet by chance on a starlit night to share their stories.
The idea is an interesting one, particularly from these two tales; Puck is a being of magic and knowledge and mischief, Mowgli is an earthling raised by wolves with land sense and little imagination.
It is a meeting of discovery, mostly for Mowgli as Puck expresses things he’s never even dreamed of, but also for Puck as he appears to discover more about himself when faced with this straightforward cub of a child. Their stories are miles apart, and at first it seems an odd pairing. It is only when Puck admits he needs an Indian boy, a changeling child, do things fall into place.
Some of the ideas thrown around within the script are lovely – the idea of dreams being stories the universe tells us, or the concept of Puck, is a magical creature, being able to visit any other story. It is coherent as to why these two characters come together. The ending borders on cheesy, but the actors handle the script well.
It’s a lovely spectacle and a fun fusion of beloved characters, worth a watch for the musings of these changeling creatures.
7th-26th August at 9.05pm. Suitable PG