This is a new play for children taken from Rudyard Kipling's original rather than the Disney classic.

All the principle characters are there - Mowgli, Bagheera, Baloo and Kaa the snake - but not quite as we thought we knew them.

The back story is the animals live in an uneasy truce with each other as dictated by the laws in the ancient Jungle Book.

That peace is threatened when Shere Khan the tiger declares himself king of beasts.

The only one who can stand in his way is young Mowgli, an orphan boy raised by wolves.

As with Disney's version, the show is packed with upbeat, up-tempo songs and these are its strongest suit.

Several are distressingly catchy, such as Boomarangatan, and the "junglist" Jungle Dance is a witty touch.

This Jungle Book is at its best when it keeps things simple.

The choreography, for example, is straightforward and effective but the script is unnecessarily verbose and woefully short on jokes and audience interaction, which are essential for youngsters.

On the whole, the young cast is able and headed by the experienced Jess Conrad as Khan and, as the star, he has the best costume by some distance: Think Alvin Stardust in big-cat form.

Conrad certainly camps it up, playing his tiger for as many laughs as he can, but the rest of the cast seem weighed down by the stodgy script.

Some of the characterisations are a little odd, too. Simon Young's Baloo seems to be a curmudgeonly Uncle Remus-figure and Ulric Browne is enthusiastic and likeable as Bagheera but inconsistent. He wants to be street but it's unclear whether it's Eight-Mile or Sesame.

That said, the central message of the virtues of tolerance comes through in the end and the target audience - the children - seemed to enjoy themselves. It's good, family fun but it could be so much better.

Box office: 01903 206206.