Reviewer: Daniel Shipman
Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Life of Pi, adapted from Yann Martel’s novel, follows the titular Pi as she attempts to migrate away from the political unrest of 1970s India, alongside her family and the animals of their zoo, to start a new life in Canada. En route, their ship encounters a vicious storm and everyone but Pi perishes. Despite this, Pi manages to survive through impossible conditions and tells the story to diplomats eager to hear what happened to their vessel.
There has been a huge vogue for lush, puppetry-heavy productions in British theatre over the past decade or so – you could call this the Warhorse effect. Life of Pi is undeniably an excellent entry into that canon, but this production suffers from being ‘nearly perfect’. In most other genres this would be a compliment, but this particular style demands flawlessness and it isn’t quite achieved here. The animal puppetry is breathtakingly immersive for the majority of the runtime, but there are occasional moments that do take you out of the illusion. An orangutan swings from branches that aren’t there, and a few wheeled-on props wander around the stage after not being locked into place.
At a time of year when people might be expecting the traditional pantomime, Life of Pi is an admirably bold choice of Christmas production from The Lowry. There are some particularly bleak, almost gory moments to be aware of if you’re planning to bring the family, but the kids around me seemed to be unfazed by this and to be absolutely spellbound by the animal puppetry.
As with the film (which I admittedly haven’t seen for years) I spent much of the duration searching for a meaning in the plot beyond ‘triumph over adversity’. The way that the subtle, overarching allegory is realised in the closing minutes of the play is masterful. I’ll try not to give away anymore, but it casts the preceding two hours in an entirely different light, raising questions of why we tell stories and why parables and fables are some of the oldest forms of storytelling.
While this production could stand a bit more polish, it is heartening to see yet another northern-born stage success story. The play of Life of Pi was created in 2019 over in Sheffield and has since run at London’s National Theatre and made its way over to Broadway. Whatever small quibbles I may have, it has earned its place on the world stage, and you’d be well advised to take the opportunity to witness the spectacle for yourself.
-Daniel Shipman
Life of Pi runs at The Lowry until Sunday 7 January 2024.