The Life of Pi | Review by Bettina Gracias
Like War Horse, the Life of Pi production at the WyndhamTheatre demonstrates what it is possible to achieve on stage with a little imagination and …puppets. Somehow, one is magically transported to a world of Orangutans, Zebras and a Bengal Tiger so cleverly that, even though our eyes know we are watching a stage show with puppets, our brains take in the mechanics of their operation, our hearts still respond with joy and sadness to the beats of the story.
The set is sublimely designed by Tim Hadley who brilliantly helps the central character leap between a stark hospital room in Mexico to a bustling market in India, a zoo in Pondicherry, a cargo ship on the ocean and a life boat occupied by various, unexpected inhabitants.
The play, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti, engagingly tackles the themes of religion, faith and truth, making us question the value of reality and facts. Nuwan Hugh Perera convincingly plays the central character Pi with humour, intelligence and heart.
The novel, film and play are all, naturally, different to each other and this show is an inspiring, celebration of the strengths of what theatre can bring to a story. On at the Wyndham Theatre, Leicester Square till the 15th of January and then on tour in the UK and Ireland.
PRESS RELEASE | STORY HOUSE
“Life of Pi won five Olivier Awards in April 2022. As well as Best New Play, and Best Actor for Hiran Abeysekera (the original Pi); in an historic first for the Olivier Awards – the seven performers who puppeteer the Tiger ‘Richard Parker’were collectively awarded Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The production also picked up awards for set (Tim Hatley, Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell), and lighting design (Tim Lutkin and Andrzej Goulding).” […]
“Based on one of the best-loved works of fiction – winner of the Man Booker Prize, selling over fifteen million copies worldwide – Life of Pi is a breath-taking new theatrical adaptation of an epic journey of endurance and hope.
After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, there are five survivors stranded on a single lifeboat – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, a sixteen year-old boy and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive?
Award winning writer Yann Martel’s works include The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios (1993), Self (1996), We Ate the Children Last (2004), Beatrice and Virgil (2010) – a New York Times Bestseller and a Financial Times Best Book, 101 Letters to a Prime Minister (2012) – a collection of letters to the prime minister of Canada; and The High Mountains of Portugal (2016). “
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