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6 March 2024
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5*****
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Yann Martel’s novel took the bookshops by storm and won the Man Booker Prize into the bargain. With many challenges facing a film adaptation it proved successful at the cinema before the version for the stage achieved rave reviews and general acclaim.
16 year old Pi lives amongst the animals at her Father’s zoo, but when social and political unrest encourage the family to move abroad with some of the animals, disaster strikes as the boat they are sailing in hits a storm and the boat is lost. Pi is the only human survivor and is seen at the start of the play being interviewed by an insurance executive trying to find out what happened.
Pi tells an extraordinary story about surviving on a lifeboat for 227 days with only a Bengal Tiger and other animals as company; Pi isn’t believed, so tells another version of the same story but without the creatures, with humans – which is the real truth? In a nutshell these are two of the main elements of the story; what we believe and what is truth.
The execution of the story-telling – which is itself a major element of the tale – is miraculous, mind-blowing and beautifully realised. The script by Lolita Chakrabarti is literate and lucid with a good sprinkling of humour. The direction by Max Webster is sharp, fluid and ensures the story is well told. Technically this is just stunning. Never have video projections been so well used; the storm at sea with the passengers on the boat being tossed about on the waves, the shoals of fish, the dead calm waters – Andrzej Goulding’s work is miraculous – the audience is right to feel as if they are experiencing what they see on stage. With superb lighting from Tim Lutkin and Tim Deiling, this visual collaboration is a triumph on every level. Carolyn Downing’s sound design uses effects and Andrew T Mackay’s atmospheric score to enhance all that is seen. Tim Hatley’s set and costume designs are colourful, versatile and transport you to wherever you need to be from the interior of a clinical hospital to the middle of the ocean.
The wonderful animals created by Nick Barnes are another delight; from the giraffe to the orangutan, zebra and hyena – each perfectly articulated bodily and vocally by the talented performers. There is real character in them, not least in the tiger – given the name Richard Parker; a confusion with the name of the hunter who sent her to the zoo – when that tiger roars, you notice it. The great work of puppet and movement director, Finn Caldwell, cannot be underestimated.
The role of Pi is written as a young male, but here performed as a young girl, with enthusiasm, energy and clarity by Adwitha Arumugam; she holds the attention of the audience throughout and the bonds with the animals are palpable. The full cast create a wonderful ensemble and are given the chance to show their versatility as part of the storytelling.
Pi’s Father tells her that the most dangerous animal in a zoo is man; but that the animals had strength and power themselves. The brutality of life is not shied away from and the killing of one animal by another is shocking and disturbing – even though they are just puppets – such is the power of the production.
Pi grows up questioning aspects of life, not least religion and belief; she doesn’t know what is the truth, and at the end of the play when she has offered two versions of her journey, the question is asked, which is the better story – that with animals or with humans? It is for the audience to decide which is the real truth; what is undeniable is the subliminal message that life is tough and it takes huge strength to get through – Pi survives through her wiles, but also by listening to advice and guidance from family and friends.
Life of Pi is a stunning production; an intelligent and challenging play, created by theatre people at the height of their powers. It will stay with you for a long time into the future.
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Cast
Pi – Adwitha Arumugan
Tiger Hind/Cook/Father Martin – Antony Antunes
Lulu Chen/Mrs Biology Kumar – Bhawna Bhawsar
Father – Ralph Birtwell
Tiger Head – Sebastian Goffin
Tiger Head – Akash Heer
Tiger Heart + Hind – Romina Hytten
Tiger Heart + Hind – Katie Kennedy-Rose
Tiger Heart + Hind – Aizah Khan
Rani – Keshini Misha
Amma – Goldy Notay
Lulu Chen/Mrs Biology Kumar – Sharita Oomeer
Tiger Heart + Hind – Kate Rowsell
Tiger Hind + Russian Sailor – Tom Stacy
Mrs Okamoto/Mrs Khan/Ships Captain
Tiger Head/Cook/Father Martin – Peter Twose
Russian Sailor – Vinesh Veerasami
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Creatives
Novelist – Yann Martel
Playwright – Lolita Chakrabarti
Director – Max Webster
Set and Costume Design – Tim Hatley
Puppetry and Movement Director – Finn Caldwell
Puppet Designers – Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes
Video Designer – Andrzej Goulding
Lighting Design – Tim Lutkin and Tim Deiling
Sound Design – Carolyn Downing
Composer – Andrew T Mackay
Image – Johan Persson
