Life of Pi

 

When: 12th January 2023 (Matinee)

Where: Wyndhams Theatre, London

Writer: Lolita Chakrabarti

Director: Max Webster

After a while hearing rave reviews and wanting to experience this play, I finally got around to doing so during its final week. I think this play deserves all the accolades it has recieved, and is a beautiful representation of theatre as a medium for storytelling. 

The biggest draw to this play for me was the puppets, and I do think this is the most enthralling aspect of the production. Unlike previous puppetry that I have seen the puppets in this are constructed in a much more artistic style. Whilst they are clearly the animals they are presenting, without the work of the puppeteers they would not be seen as anything but figurines. Each animal has multiple puppeteers, some such as the tiger have a puppeteer that practically wears the puppet, walking on all-fours throughout. This sort of puppeteering defintely stretches the boundaries between the puppet being a prop or a costume. Yet, this was such an interesting use of the performers. Puppeteering in this way allowed them to control so many more joints within the animal, and using the human body as a structure allowed even more realistic movement to take place. I also think it added to the overall message of this play. During the short re-telling of the story with human characters rather than the puppets, it made the decision of which story to believe stronger, as it portrayed less differences between them. It also highlighted the humanity within the animals, and similarly the animalistic features of people. At one point this boundary is almost completely shattered, as the tiger puppet takes on a much more human character, sitting upright and talking to Pi (in a french accent). This is a testament to the puppeteers, using nothing but different movements and manipulation of the puppet to create an almost completely different character. 

Much of the rest of the set is pretty minimal, with the exception of the cargo ship. This saw the back walls turn and reveal a multitude of ladders, balconies and doors. Whilst I think it was perhaps quite a lot for such a short scene, the scene change didn't cause any slow in momentum, and it added to the feeling of isolation later on. Much of the performance takes place on the small life boat which is beautifully executed. Rising from the ground and incorporating the bed, scene changes were slick and added to the transition from past to present. The use of lighting and projection to connote the sea meant that it was simple and effective. For practically the entirety of the play Pi is either on the boat or on a make-shift floation device, meaning that the stage floor becomes the top of the ocean. However cleverly at one point he jumps off the boat into the water, using previously hidden rubber flaps he drops straight through the stage and pops up somewhere else. With no one expecting it the audience were widly excited by this cheering. It is definitely a clever trick and it adds to the beautiful storytelling of the piece. 

I don't know how the novel or film have managed to evade me, but going into the play I had very little knowledge of the story its self, except a tiger and a man on a boat together. I didn't expect it to have such depth. I loved the shift in storyline and the re-telling using humans rather than animals, asking not only the governor but the audience which story they prefer to believe, and having not seen either of the other forms of the story I do not see how this could be produced without the medium of theatre. The questions it presents could not resonate as closely with the audience without the shared experience of witnessing the action live in front of you. Whilst Life of Pi is a brilliant example of the kind of storytelling theatre creates, it also provides questions and thoughts on societal and topical subjects, such as the religious and cultural dilemmas introduced in the beginning of the play. Taking the story at face value provides a joyous and entertaining experience, but if you peer into it's core even just a little bit, it says so much on so many different levels. 

Despite have few reservations about this play, I felt that I wasn't as emotionally attatched to the story as perhaps I should have been. I was captivated by the action taking place infront of me, and I felt the joy and humour within the performance, but I felt it lacked strong emotions of the loneliness or mourning of family that would be present within this situation. Perhaps creating something not as hard hitting as many raw, emotional plays this is a much more accessible and appealing show for a West End audience. I definitely felt that there were less regular theatre goers than many of the previous play I have seen. Saying all this, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey and experience that this play provided, and I'm extremely pleased I managed to catch it before it closes on Sunday.