The National Theatre has named the full company for The Jungle Book, the world premiere of Anupama Chandrasekhar’s new adaptation, with Olivier winner Hiran Abeysekera as Mowgli and 30 performers in the Olivier this Christmas.
The National Theatre has announced the full company for The Jungle Book, which has its world premiere in the Olivier on 13 November and runs to 6 February 2027. Anupama Chandrasekhar adapts Rudyard Kipling’s stories and Indhu Rubasingham directs, in her first festive-season production since taking over the building.
Hiran Abeysekera, who won an Olivier for Life of Pi, plays Mowgli. Kel Matsena is Shere Khan, Ayesha Dharker plays Raksha and Messua, Tony Jayawardena is Moti, Ankur Bahl takes Kaa and Bijoy, and Jordan Metcalfe plays Cat. Avye Leventis is Tabaqui, Shaun Yusuf McKee plays Devan, Valentine Hanson is the Mahout, with Sasha Jagsi as Neela and Sharita Oomeer as the Stork.
Bagheera and Baloo take more than one performer each
The casting list is the clearest signal of what this staging intends. The big animals are puppets worked by several people at once: Sarah Amankwah and Laura Cubitt share Bagheera, with Rebecca Killick and Sarah Mardel on the panther’s heart, while Sebastian Charles and Azan Ahmed divide Baloo between them. Roles in the company are listed as heads, hinds and hearts rather than simply as characters.
The puppetry is by Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes of Lume, the pair behind Life of Pi, which reunites them with Abeysekera. Caldwell also directs the movement. The company numbers 30.
Design is by Rajha Shakiry, with an original score by the Spanish film composer Fernando Velázquez, lighting by Oliver Fenwick and sound by Benjamin Grant. Chandrasekhar sets the story in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans; she and Rubasingham previously worked together on The Father and the Assassin at the same address.
The Jungle Book plays the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre from 13 November 2026 to 6 February 2027.
