Review: Life of Pi (play), UK Tour, Glasgow | Stunning!

Divesh Subaskaran and Richard Parker in Life of Pi play. Photo: Ellie Kurtz

Life of Pi, UK tour ★★★★★

Life of Pi (theatre, play) Based on the novel by Yann Martel | Adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti

Director: Max Webster

Review: 18 June 2024 | Theatre Royal, Glasgow

Piscine (known as Pi) and his family leave India for a new life in Canada. They board a cargo ship with their precious zoo animals including hyenas, a zebra, an orangutan and a Royal Bengal Tiger. When the vessel is shipwrecked during a storm, Pi finds himself stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with some of the animals.

The 2001 Man Booker Prize winning novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and was adapted into an Oscar winning film directed by Ang Lee. The play has won Olivier awards and Tony awards, and after stints in the West End and Broadway, it's now nearing the end of it's inaugural 32 venue UK Tour and has arrived at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow this week.

With breath-taking visuals and stunning puppetry, this is a theatre show not to be missed. Just when you think it can't get any more magical - it does!

For this show - if you are able - I'd recommend sitting upstairs. The production makes great use of projections on the revolving stage floor. From maps, to the ocean and swooping sea creatures, the stage floor comes alive in the most realistic and beautiful way.

So cleverly does the stage move in harmony with the projections that the lifeboat genuinely seems to be afloat. I actually felt a little motion sick towards the end with the bobbing of the waves. It's incredibly realistic and completely spellbinding.

Divesh Subaskaran in Life of Pi play. Photo credit: Ellie Kurtz

Incredible puppets

Pi's epic journey begins in India where we meet the members of his delightful family and their zoo. The zoo animals are the most incredible puppets, brought to life with enormous skill by the brilliant cast. They are fully 3D, tail wagging, conscious creatures - you'll soon come to believe that they are real. Each puppet takes multiple actors to animate and it's no wonder they won a 'best supporting actor' Tony award for their efforts. It's world-class puppetry and a joy to witness.

Richard Parker is the Royal Bengal Tiger who is Pi's companion for most of the show. So pivotal a character and so real a co-star is he that he even takes his own bow in the finale!

Richard Parker was a fascinating, complex character in the book, and seeing him brought to life in the theatre is something I will never forget. I don't see how it could've been done any better. Phenomenal.

Divesh Subaskaran and Richard Parker in Life of Pi play. Photo credit: Ellie Kurtz

Leading the show as Pi, in what unbelievably, is his professional debut, Divesh Subaskaran is heartbreaking and hilarious as our protagonist.

And that is one aspect that caught me by surprise - this show is funny! A tragic story of endurance and grief, yes, but in his telling of it, Pi brings his tale alive with humorous anecdotes and hope.

The supporting company all play numerous roles and are likewise, exemplary. The story moves at pace, and although we lose some of the detail from the book, the essence of the story is here.

It's a fantastic adaptation that's enchanting and entertaining from beginning to end.

With pitch perfect performances, flawless sound and light, impeccable direction and presentation, and those phenomenal puppets, Life of Pi is one of the most beautiful shows I've ever seen on a stage. What they deliver here is enchanting and remarkable; I urge you not to miss it. ★★★★★