It does not feel like 23 years since Yann Martel published his novel Life of Pi, winning the Man Booker Prize.  Famously rejected by multiple publishing houses before being accepted by Knopf Canada it went on to sell in excess of 10 million copies.  A screen adaptation followed in 2012, directed by Ang Lee, and which was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning four.   The Life of Pi has almost become a pop culture reference in its own right.

Suffice to say, audience members might be asking themselves ‘What can a new adaptation for the stage possibly offer beyond that which has already been committed to paper and film?’

The answer is that it offers everything.

This production, concisely adapted by the writer Lolita Chakrabarti, and directed by Max Webster is a wondrous spectacle of music, light, dialogue and physical movement.  I am so impressed by the show that I immediately start to consider how can I possibly do justice to the entirety of the cast and crew who have developed such an amazing piece of theatre.  

For those few unaware of the plot, Life of Pi centres on the narrator, Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, who is the lone human survivor of a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean, relaying his story to a pair of insurance investigators sent to ascertain the facts of the ship’s sinking.  The lead role, played with a beautiful vulnerability by the debut performer Divesh Subaskaran, extols the tale of his 227 days at sea in a lifeboat accompanied by, incredulously, a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.  

Divesh perfectly melds the wondrous naïve nature of Pi with the tenacious survival instincts under the surface of the character, which makes the final act of the play so much more compelling and truthful.  Pi consistently asks the audience and the investigators about the nature of storytelling and to consider what is truth?   

Through an absolutely wondrous set design which transforms from a sparse medical room to a bustling Indian street to a cacophonous zoo, via the always present lifeboat the audience are introduced to a beautiful and light-filled environment which always dazzles.   Each set materialises through the seamless efforts of the actors.   Tim Hatley, as designer, with his crew, have honestly produced something spectacular and the lighting effects bounce and explode from the scenes.  Tims Lutkin and Deiling use a vibrant colour palette to transport the audience from the humidity of an Indian zoo to the vast landscape of the open sea with a ceiling of infinite stars. 

However, the true stars are the animal puppets; each one arriving on stage with a ripple of audience reaction from laughter (Buckingham the goat) to awe (Black and White the zebra) to genuine fear-filled alarm as Richard Parker stalks slowly into view with animalistic murderous intent.   Finn Caldwell deserves both of his Olivier award nominations for his work on Life of Pi and more.

The animals are given such life and breath from the performers, it really is the pinnacle of physical theatre that I have seen.  At quiet moments on stage you can hear the animal breathing floating through the auditorium.  Fish swim, monkeys leap from branch to branch, rats scurry and zoo animals endear themselves to the audience. 

Particularly, the scene of a storm-stricken ship with panicked animals struggling for safety is distressing and breath-taking as lightning cracks overhead and rain lashes the stage.  Watching a sodden Richard Parker swim across the stage towards the shelter of the lifeboat whilst being fought tenaciously by Pi using an oar is wildly suspenseful.

To reveal any more would be to ruin the story for those unaware of the ending but suffice to say Life of Pi is a theatrical masterpiece and I would argue this stage adaptation is the finest version of the story that can be told. The audience are in the fight for survival with Pi, invested in his every choice, victory and failure.  As Pi’s hallucinations set in, actors enter the stage offering guidance and wisdom from deep within his subconscious, spurring him on to make decisions each of which have consequences.    

Martell said of the novel that there are three main ideas; “Life is a story”, “You can choose your story” and “A story with God is the better story”.    A sentiment which the audience are presented with in the final few moments before the curtain; asked to make a choice.

The entire cast and crew should be exceptionally proud of what they have produced and Divesh Subaskaran has debuted with a beautiful, compelling, exceptional performance.  I could write forever on it’s charm and beauty but simply, just go and see it. 

A ‘must see’ for all fans of storytelling in any form.