Spokenworld Audio, 2013
In this audio adaptation of the Kipling classic, the stories were read by David
Warner, embellished with songs performed by the cast from the Red Table Theatre production of the Just So Stories that played
London and Edinburgh and 2012, and was described by one critic as an ideal show for children with evocative songs, whose cast
ended up happily chatting with the audience at the end..
Neil Gardner's radio version
contains ten songs performed by Tressa Brooks, Jennifer Hazel, Freya Parsons and Jo Wickham. They are a talented ensemble,
with a very precise method of delivery: every word they sing becomes clearly audible. In quasi-Brechtian fashion the
songs are designed to summarize the stories as well as offering a comment on their significance.
But the production was in no way didactic in tone: on the contrary it was highly entertaining,
with narrator Warner having a great time with Kipling's language in which sound and sense assume equal importance. He
sounded so convincing, in fact, that we might have been persuaded to believe Kipling's explanations as to how the elephant
gets his trunk, why the moon pulls the tides, and so on.
Although intended for children, this version of the Just So Stories should appeal
to all listeners who have the childlike spirit lurking within their souls.
