Typically I am not a style over substance girl when it comes to live theatre (or film for that matter.) If the story doesn’t impress me usually it doesn’t matter how visually impressive a production is. I say usually because there is an exception to every rule. Such is the case with the national tour of Life of Pi playing at Eccles until April 6th. The story is fine and has its thoughtful moments but the visuals including the puppetry are unforgettable.
At its core Life of Pi is a simple survival story. An Indian young man named Pi gets shipwrecked as his family is fleeing India with their zoo animals. Eventually he ends up (in one variation at least) on a boat with a bengal tiger named Richard Parker. This is based on the book by Yann Martel and was adapted to the stage by Lolita Chakrabarti. Readers may also be familiar with the Oscar winning film by director Ang Lee released in 2012. Chakrabarti tries to bring a lot of spirituality and existentialism into the script but a lot of that felt cloying and clunky where it was trying to be sincere.
The aspects of the script that worked better for me were the alternate realities and when things become practically a horror show with events getting very dark for poor Pi. These sections felt more fresh than the bland new age spirituality of the supposedly profound moments.
Anything lacking in the script is more than made up for in the mesmerizing visuals. It’s hard to throw something at me I’ve never seen (especially in a play!) but these animal puppets are jaw dropping. The puppeteers are unbelievable. They create the feeling of a real animal everything from the movements of the muscles to the sound of the animals breathing. They even have a giraffe for a small scene at the beginning that took my breath away.
Taha Mandviwala is also outstanding as Pi. He understands the physicality of the role and is up for the emotional range required to go through a 227 day marooned at sea struggle. The other elements brought together by director Max Webster are outstanding and one can hardly help but get caught up in the drama of what is happening. I loved the lighting by Tim Deiling and Tim Lutkin and the way projections were carefully used to further the story and make nature a real character in the piece beyond just the animals. There are some strobe lights used to create lightning and other effects that might be hard for some people but they totally helped me get engrossed in what was happening with poor Pi on this boat!
I almost didn’t need the callouts to God and religion with this story. Sheer survival and the test of the human spirit is enough to think about and ponder. How far would you go if tested and desperate? What kind of person do you want to be and what is the difference between human and animal natures. That’s enough without bringing in 3 faiths for Pi to juggle.
In the end, however, squabbles with the script didn’t keep me from having a great time at Life of Pi and giving it a strong recommendation. It’s a stunning work of theatrical art that one has to see to believe. It is playing through April 6th and tickets can be purchased here.
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Rachel Reviews Theatre 