Wildly enthusiastic reviews and five Olivier Awards might ensure that Lolita Chakrabarti’s stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s much-loved Booker winner needs little introduction to the would-be theatregoer. Many months have passed, though, and now a cost of living crisis and a return of Covid anxiety are challenging even the most established theatre offerings. Nevertheless, audiences still seem to be finding their way in droves to Wyndham’s. And so they should: this is a stunning, uplifting show.
The story of teenage philosopher Pi and his survival in a lifeboat shared for 227 days with a Bengal tiger unfolds in Chakrabarti’s adaptation via flashbacks. Pi is being interviewed by an insurance broker in a sterile-looking hospital room and recalling his experiences before and after the shipwreck that killed his parents and sister. The contrast between this and his family’s life running a slightly chaotic zoo in Pondicherry is absolute: there was colour, noise, movement and affectionate banter. And, of course, animals. An orang-utan nursing a baby, a hyena, a zebra and a goat as well as Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger, are presented as life-size puppets operated by people, inside and outside them. The creatures’ movements are convincingly life-like, their personalities clear: there isn’t a second’s doubt that Richard Parker is capable of killing and indeed we see him polish off Buckingham, the goat. Chakrabarti has taken seriously Martel’s insistence that death and suffering must not be glossed over.
Nuwan Hugh Perera has just taken over the central role of Pi (although he has played the part twice a week since the show opened). He is likeable and believable as a 16 year old – cheeky, sometimes know-it-all, but thoughtful too, willing to learn, highly imaginative, exploring the major truths of life. To this end he has simultaneously become a signed-up Christian, Muslim and Hindu. Among new members of the cast is Ameet Chana (of EastEnders) playing Pi’s father, who determines to move the whole family and their zoo from India to America to escape the political upheavals of 1976.
Owain Gwynn (tiger), Ameet Chana (Father) and Nuwan Hugh Perera (Pi) ©Ellie Kurttz
The survival story takes up the second half of the production. Under Max Webster’s direction it is gripping. Big questions about the nature of truth, the importance (or otherwise) of religion, when violence is justified are woven in with a light touch. But the show’s unique strength is in its visual effects, notably the animals, especially Richard Parker, but also the swiftly melding backdrops of zoo, cargo ship, hospital and the lifeboat lost on the Pacific Ocean. Set and costumes are by Tim Hatley, atmospheric lighting by Tim Lutkin, the puppets by Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes.
The play, like the book, ends by posing a binary question. There are no two ways about this show as a resounding celebration of theatre and what it can achieve.
Life of Pi is playing at Wyndam’s Theatre until January 15th 2023