Maybe you’ve read the philosophical novel by Yann Martel, or seen the movie, but you’ve seen nothing like this theatrical adaptation by Lolita Chakrabarti! PPAC presents Life of Pi, an epic tale of perseverance and hope. Told with incredible visuals, masterful puppetry and amazing stagecraft, Life of Pi creates a visually stunning journey that leaves you filled with awe. You’ll enjoy the cutting-edge visual effects of this global phenomenon celebrating family, resilience, survival, and the natural world.
Pi, short for Piscine (French for pool) is a 16-year-old boy who grows up in India, where his family owns a zoo. There he has learned a thing or two about animals. After a shipwreck leaves him adrift on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific, he struggles alongside the only other survivors— an unlikely mix of zoo animals, including a hyena, zebra, orangutan— and a 450-lb Royal Bengal tiger named Richard Parker! Amazingly, this story was born of some true elements, as told to Martel.
Pi’s journey of survival, lasting 227 days, is both physical and spiritual. As he ponders issues of spirituality and metaphysics, we ask ourselves, is this a tale of theology, or survival? As art is open to interpretation, thoughts vary. Many will consider the two stories told in parallel— that of the humans, and that of the animals. One could argue the tiger is a figment of Pi’s imagination, symbolizing his determination to survive. Alternately, the tiger also is highly motivated to live, both doing what needs to be done to endure. Martel has no definitive answer but does say, “If you lose the story of the people, that’s fine. The real story is the animals.”
Portraying Pi is Taha Mandviwala, who gives an outstanding, moving performance. He is an absolute pleasure to watch, nailing the fear and desolation of an impish boy lost in every possible way. While Pi and the tiger are the main characters on stage throughout most of the play, others are briefly seen or mentioned. There’s a cast of about 20, but it doesn’t appear so as many meld into the puppetry.
Kudos to the puppetry team for giving us this visual delight. Puppet Designer and Movement Director Finn Caldwell feels each puppet must have a strong sense of character. “The most important thing to remember is that the audience needs to believe the puppet is alive. If that doesn’t happen, everything else is lost. Puppets appeal to the audience’s sense of play, and there is a silent contract between the audience and the puppeteers to suspend all disbelief.”
It’s curious why Pi’s hospital bed is on the raft. One could argue this is for leveling, giving some height in order to enhance the visual impact of the scene and direct our focus. It might be for some fluid cohesion between the ebb and flow of the raft’s momentum and Pi’s state of mind, as time flip-flops from sea to post-rescue. Director Max Webster says, “Life of Pi is a challenging novel to adapt because of the interpolation of the scenes at sea, with the more conversational scenes in the hospital. We have to ensure that we don’t lose momentum and tension in those scenes— that we sustain the audience’s engagement and interest.” It does begin to feel a tad stagnant toward the end, but concludes on a joyous note.
There have been other challenges adapting this tale for the stage. “One of the main ones is how we stay honorable and give answers in the play, but still allow the mystical element of religion and of life to live within it, when the audience leaves the theatre,” says Chakrabarti. The playwright’s adaptation also brings women to the forefront. “I’ve taken characters from the novel who are men, or who are in the background, and made them more prominent female characters. I love the representations of lots of different kinds of people in the play.”
PJ Prokop, director of marketing at PPAC, says, “We are pleased to collaborate with the Roger Williams Park Zoo and support the real-life animals at the zoo through this promotion. In Life of Pi, the zoo animals are depicted on stage using beautiful, world-class puppetry. It is a story about hope, survival and resilience, which matches the zoo’s mission to save wildlife through conservation and education.”
Don’t miss out on this breathtaking production!
Life of Pi runs through February 16. Contains violence, smoke, haze, flashing and strobe lights throughout. Run time is 2 hours 10 minutes, including intermission. For more information, visit ppacri.org.
