My husband Rich and I were first exposed to the stage version of Yann Matel’s critically acclaimed and award-winning novel “Life of Pi” when we watched a filmed version of London’s West End National Theatre performance, screened at Cineplex Theatres in April 2023. With its innovative staging that incorporated stunning video effects to simulate rainstorms, waves in the ocean, schools of fish and more, as well as amazingly skillful use of puppetry to represent animals at the Zoo and on Pi’s lifeboat, this was one of the best examples of theatre stagecraft that we had ever seen. You can read my extensive about my review of the West End production of this play, including a synopsis of the plot, at the link below.
https://torontohappenings.blogspot.com/2023/04/theatre-2023-life-of-pi-national.html
A touring road show from London has now hit Toronto and is part of our 2024/25 Mirvish subscription series. We loved the play so much when we watched the filmed version that we would probably would have wanted to watch it again regardless. But given that it was part of our subscription series, this became a no-brainer. I won’t repeat my thoughts about the original show here but will compare and contrast the two productions.
As always, seeing a show for the second time will never be the same as the first time that you experience it, and a touring show usually must make some compromises in terms of staging. So, we were interested in how we would feel revisiting Life of Pi while also comparing attending a live performance versus watching one on screen. Because we knew what to expect, we upgraded our tickets to the first row in the Mezzanine to get the best view. The special effects projected onto the stage floor made it imperative that we be able to look down on the action from above. But we also wanted to be close enough to see the intricate movements and “reactions” from the various animals and the tiger Richard Parker in particular.
Since it was designed by the same creative team, the Mirvish production matched the West End one in terms of spectacular lighting effects and masterful puppetry and animatronics. The use of video and a few prop changes magically transform the setting from an austere hospital room in Mexico, to a zoo and a bustling market in India, to a cargo ship in a fierce storm and finally to the open waters of the ocean where Pi is shipwrecked on a lifeboat. But the team had to work within the limitations of the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre as opposed to the Wyndham Theatre in London, England. At Wyndham, Pi’s lifeboat rises out of the stage floor and Pi falls into the “ocean” by going right through the stage with only his head sticking out. This was not possible to reproduce in Toronto, so Pi’s boat is split vertically into two halves that emerge from either side of the stage, and the scene where Pi falls into the water is sadly eliminated. In the West End version, that was one of the highlights of the stagecraft.
Another seemingly major difference between the two versions of the play was in the gender casting of some major roles. At our performance, Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) was female (played by a spunky Riya Rajeev), as was the representative of Japanese Ministry of transport Mrs.Okamoto, who was sent to interview Pi and find out why the ship sank. And even the Bengal tiger “Richard Parker” was referenced as female. This seemed to be a triumph for gender equality in casting and did not affect the plot at all. What I realized when reviewing the programme after the show was that we had the “alternate” Pi for our performance. In the regular performances, Pi was male (played by Divesh Subaskaran) while Riya played his sister Rani. At our show, Pi’s sibling was a brother named Ravi. Because of the strenuous demands of the role involving jumping around in the lifeboat and battling giant-sized puppets, it seems clear why there is a need for two actors to play Pi. However, the gender switch is surprising since it called for subtle changes in the dialog anytime anyone referred to Pi in the third person. You would think the chance of a mix-up would be high! Based on the programme, it seems that the role of Okamoto remains female for all performances but I wonder whether Richard Parker changes genders to match the actor playing Pi?
Another interesting detail that I learned from reviewing the programme was the multiple teams of puppeteers assigned to play Richard Parker. At any one time, there are three puppeteers manipulating the tiger’s various parts—one for the hind legs, one for the core or heart and one for the head. The movements and expressions of the tiger are so realistic that you forget about the humans controlling the puppet despite their being in plain sight and concentrate only on the ferocious beast. I did notice the two rear puppeteers during the final bows and felt sorry for them since they had to be hunched over for much of the time that they were on stage.
Because of the acoustics in the Ed Mirvish Theatre and the heavy accents of the actors, I found it sometimes difficult to hear all of the dialogue, especially when Pi was shouting or speaking very rapidly. But having read the novel and watched the previous West End performance, I was very familiar with the plot so this did not detract much from my enjoyment of the play. Even watching it for the second time and knowing what to expect, I found the show to be just as enthralling. Those who go watch it for the first time will be blown away. This was an extremely difficult book to adapt and playwright Lolita Chakrabarti did a fantastic job. But the biggest kudos must go to the creative team including the lighting and video designers, as well as the puppeteers, whose work took the show to an entirely different level. You can find a video of the puppeteers rehearsing on Facebook.
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