Life Of Pi

Based on the best-selling book by Yann Matel, playwright Lolita Chakrabarti’s award winning Life of Pi is an epic journey of human endurance, hope and a battle to survive in the face of adversity.

In this day and age, it is of no surprise that political upset is the catalyst for Piscine Patel (Pi) and his family to leave their home, a zoo in India, in search for a new life in a new country. Whilst for much of the first act of the show the audience is shown the happiness of Pi’s life to date, we are also introduced to the amazing puppets that are central to the storytelling, including Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger who becomes central to the ensuing tale, being Pi’s only companion following the loss of the hyena, zebra and orangutan, on a small boat for 227 days following a disaster at sea.

Whilst Divesh Subaskaran is convincing as Pi, albeit an older Pi than I was expecting, the other characters appeared somewhat stilted and almost surplus to requirements. The stars of the show are most definitely Pi and Richard Parker, the hungry Bengal tiger and the other animal puppets designed by Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes. They are colourful, flexible and absolutely fabulous! The butterflies appear first, their wings quivering on their sticks, closely followed by a giraffe and a zebra whilst a giant orangutan swings from the trees as her baby slumbers on a nearby branch. When at sea, there are shoals of iridescent flying fish and turtles. Each puppet is amazing in its design and construction and all are expertly handled by a skilled team of puppeteers. For me, it is without doubt Richard Parker, the terrifying tiger who dominated the stage and towards the end of the show you could be forgiven for thinking that he may be real.

Max Webster, the director, along with his technical team have created a visual triumph. The scenes constantly change and move so that the zoo is suddenly transformed into a busy street, or a room becomes a boat adrift at sea, next the boat slides into a hospital room or into a beautiful starry night. The set and costume design by Tim Hatley are more than complimented by the lighting and sound design (Tim Lutkin, Tim Deiling and Carolyn Downing respectively), whilst the puppeteers really brought their puppets to life, especially so the six puppeteers who controlled the tiger.

The second half of the show focusses on Pi’s inward and outer struggles to survive at sea with little or no food and water. After all, Pi is alone at sea in a small boat with a hungry tiger which must beg the question - who will eat who and when? The circumstance and outcome really depict the strength of the human spirit and the will to survive in the face of adversity.

This is a show that is visually stunning so much so that perhaps the more thoughtful elements of the story are lost. Nonetheless, Life of Pi is an excellent evening’s entertainment.