Life of Pi tickets

By: Lolita Chakrabarti, based on the book by Yann Martel
Producer: Simon Friend in association with Playing Field and Robert Bartner
Director: Max Webster
Cast list: Nuwan Hugh Perera, Chirag Benedict Lobo, Davina Moon, Ameet Chana, Tanvi Virmani, Saikat Ahamad, Sakuntala Ramanee, Kevin Shen, Phyllis Ho, Kazeem Tosin Amore, Owain Gwynn, Lilian Tsang, Mohit Mathur, Tom Espiner, Daisy Franks, Romina Hytten, Tom Larkin, Chris Milford and Tom Stacy
Set: Tim Hatley
Costume: Tim Hatley
Lighting: Tim Lutkin
Sound: Carolyn Downing
Puppetry: Finn Caldwell

Yann Martel won the Man Booker Prize for his celebrated novel, which works both as a thrilling adventure tale and as a fascinating exploration of different philosophies, faiths and ideas.

Both elements remain in the stage play: in fact, the very art of storytelling, and how we use it to make sense of our lives, is on display, since the show features Pi recalling past events to two people while he’s in hospital.

The clever stage adaptation is by Lolita Chakrabarti, known as both an actress and a writer. Her previous plays include Red Velvet, about the 19th-century African-American actor Ira Aldridge, which starred her husband Adrian Lester.

Bringing the Life of Pi world to life also required an innovative creative team, including director Max Webster, set and costume designer Tim Hatley, video designer Andzrej Goulding, lighting designer Tim Lutkin, sound designer Carolyn Downing, and puppetry specialists Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell. The latter pair previously worked on Angels in America, and Caldwell on the original War Horse.

What to Watch For:

• Martel’s novel was previously adapted into a film by Ang Lee, in 2012. Starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan and Rafe Spall, it featured ground-breaking visual effects work and was critically acclaimed. The movie was nominated for 11 Oscars and won four, including a Best Director award for Lee.
• The look of the animal puppets was inspired by driftwood, tying them visually into the concept of the shipwreck, and are designed so that you see their skeletons working. They’re made out of Plastazote, plywood, aluminium and nylon, with bungee cords allowing their joints to stretch.
• There are multiple puppeteers in the company, working in teams and rotating shows, since it’s such a taxing effort to work the puppets and requires incredible levels of skill and coordination. Even though each move is carefully rehearsed ahead of time, there are always slight variations on each night, keeping it fresh.
• Which belief system would you rely on in a crisis? As Pi is stranded, he imagines various people in his life offering him advice to help him cope – including religious faith, pragmatic logic, mathematical analysis and morality. It’s one of the interesting ways that Martel’s theories come through in the play.