FORGET the animated Disney classic, the singalong charm of The Bare Necessities, the animals and even the jungle itself.

Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book has been completely reimagined for its award-winning stage version by Metta Theatre.

Street dance and circus skills are set to an urban soundtrack for this version of the classic tale which is at The Lowry in Salford Quays from Tuesday to Saturday.

The characters have all been reinterpreted too.

Mowgli, who is a girl in this coming-of-age story, must find her way in the ‘urban jungle’ where she encounters Baloo the binman, graffiti artist Bagheera and a skateboarding wolf crew.

It may be a bit of a hard sell for fans who grew up with the Disney version or had the book read to them as a child.

But Kloe Dean, who plays Bagheera and is the dance captain for the production, said the production is suitable for theatre goers of all ages and backgrounds if they keep an open mind.

“I think it’s a testament to how strong the story is that it can be interpreted in various different ways,” said the 28-year-old.

“From the feedback I’ve had from audiences so far some have come in expecting The Bare Necessities but have been pleasantly surprised so that’s always nice to hear.

“It keeps the originality of the characters and the story itself but it creates a whole new world.

“It’s set in the streets and the jungle is the concrete jungle.

“The director Poppy Burton-Morgan is really passionate about telling the story of young people and about them having a voice in society and having a say in how the world is changing rapidly now.

“The show relates to a lot of different themes that are relevant in society at the moment like bullying and people feeling like an outcast and how they deal with that all the way down to friendship groups and how people come together from different backgrounds.

“It really does go quite deep in that sense. But it also keeps a light topping where it has really upbeat music.

“It’s really quite interactive as well as we literally bring the audience into our world. The world becomes the theatre.”

Kloe, who was about five when her mum read her The Jungle Book, reckons the production’s contemporary soundtrack also helps attract some young people to the theatre for the first time.

She added: “It’s very current. It goes from trap music to hip-hop. There’s even lindy hop sounding music. There is such a vast amount of genres in the show to appeal to different people’s tastes.

“Street dance and hip hop is quite young compared to the other dance styles.

“So I feel it’s bringing a whole new audience who wouldn’t necessarily have come to the theatre otherwise.”

Kloe, who is a member of the street dance sensation Blaze and performed at the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony, started imitating Michael Jackson when she was just three.

She then discovered dance was a way she could express herself.

Kloe said: “I was quite a quiet child. I wanted to express myself and that was the easiest outlet for me to do so.

“Whenever I felt angry or sad or even happy that was my go-to craft and I’ve never really wanted to do anything else.

“Our head teacher was amazing and he did a talent show with us every week

“That was where I started thinking I was a choreographer and told everyone what to do.

“I created short routines and when my mum saw this she knew she had to get me in some sort of class.

“I didn’t have much money growing up so I started making a little bit of money from selling food at school

“I was undercutting the canteen selling Ribena, bottles of water and donuts. I used to save that money to get into classes and it went from there.”