Yann Martel's bestselling novel of 2001,
Life of Pi, has been defined in many ways. The tale of the fantastical adventures of young Piscine “Pi” Patel, a Royal Bengal Tiger, named Richard Parker, due to an admin issue, and a number of other animals cut adrift on a raft in the middle of the ocean meant different things to every reader. Perhaps it is, as Pi says, a story that makes you believe in god, or maybe, it enriches you with spiritual ways to love and embrace life, or perhaps, it is just an adventurous fantasy. In all honesty, it doesn't matter, as it is a tale that seemingly offers something to all. Impossibly transferred to the screen in a 2012 film by Ang Lee, the unfilmable, became filmable, so, with this stage show, how could this be stageable?
The "how" is through some staggeringly impressive puppets and a brilliantly constructed set. The lead, young Pi himself, is played by a brilliant Divesh Subaskaran. Subaskaran gives a star-making performance in his professional stage debut and it is a curiosity that this stage adaptation by Lolita Chakrabarti leaves the rest of the cast as almost scenery. This is really not an actors' show for all but Subaskaran. Most of the cast present their lines rather than serve them with much emotion.
The drama, and there is plenty, is generally lacking from the human cast of actors bar one. Indeed this whole show comes together in the hands of Subaskaran and the dynamic he creates with the array of animal puppets, all created with loving realism by the designer Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes and the puppeteers themselves. More drama actually comes from the set as well, as Tim Hatley has carefully crafted and perfected this to become as vital to the show as the animated puppets. Adapting with ease from hospital to zoo, to ship and finally, the boat that Pi finds himself adrift in.
Upon this set is a cleverly created video design by Andrzej Goulding, which coats the surrounding set walls and indeed the floor with highly visual displays of the journeys of Pi including a fabulous storm sequence during the cargo ship's final journey. What does come with this clever video imagery is a dependence on the location of your seat in the theatre for the best view. This is one show that very much benefits from a higher located seat. Perhaps, the circle is one to watch this from rather than the often standard stalls preference.
Director Max Webster does a valiant job of keeping the action moving and under control, however, there are a few repetitive issues of blocking that may have been avoided left and right of the stage, which crop up in more than a few scenes, including the crucial first appearance of Richard Parker.
This stage show is not without its issues, however, the whole spectacle is a magnificent theatrical experience which fills the audience with a beautiful sense of wonder, and that at the end of the day is a wonderful thing to behold.
A magical, mystical journey of a stage show with superb puppetry and set design.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Performance reviewed: Wednesday 20th September 2023 at the Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes.
