R. Kipling – P. Palik: MAUGLÍ

The story of a human child raised by wolves is one of the best-known themes in *The Jungle Book*. Peter Palik’s dramatization is based on the Mowgli cycle in Kipling’s work and focuses on a boy caught between two worlds—the world of nature and the world of humans, acceptance and exclusion, freedom and the law. Mowgli is not merely an adventurous hero, but above all a being who gradually learns who he is, where he belongs, and what it means to take responsibility for himself and for others.

The production emphasizes the themes of identity and acceptance of otherness, but also, just as strongly, the conflict between order and chaos. On one side stands the law of the jungle, which is strict but based on rules of coexistence, loyalty, and the protection of the community; on the other side are the forces of chaos, self-will, fear, and violence. Mowgli gradually comes to realize that home is not just a matter of origin, but also a place of trust and acceptance. That is precisely why the production highlights themes of loyalty, friendship, and sacrifice, as well as the painful process of coming of age, separation, and the choice between emotional attachment and what is necessary.

At the same time, the production does not present Kipling’s story merely as an exotic jungle adventure. Set against the backdrop of a child from a marginalized environment who discovers *The Jungle Book* in the midst of a bleak reality, Mowgli’s story also unfolds as a reflection of today’s world, where questions of origin, identity, acceptance, fear of difference, and the search for one’s place in the world remain urgently relevant. Mowgli thus becomes a story about coming of age, about the clash between civilization and nature, but also about the deep human desire to belong somewhere.

Creative Team:
Adaptation and Direction: Peter Palik
Dramaturgy: Lukáš Kopas
Set design: Naďa Salbotová
Music: Daniel Špiner
Assistant Director: Peter Creek Orgován

Cast:
Beáta Dubielová, Juraj Fotul, Miroslav Kolbašský, Peter Orgován, Erika Orgován Molnárová, Viktória Sedláková

Production Team:
Stage Manager: Juraj Fotul
Lighting: Michal Pjecha, Rastislav Murajda
Sound: Slavomír Tkáč, Tomáš Šemrák
Set and Costume Design: Naďa Salbotová, Eva Kleschtová, Lidiya Matsyurak, Marek Urban, Vladislav Kolbašský, under the direction of Robert Dubiel

Venue: Theater Hall of the Košice Region Puppet Theater, Alžbetina 38

The production is intended for audiences aged 5 and up.

Performance start times: 9 :00 a.m. / 10:30 a.m.