‘Life of Pi’ (Theatre Royal, Glasgow) | Review By Rebecca Donati

If you see any live performance this week in Glasgow make it ‘Life of Pi’ performing at The Theatre Royal, it will not disappoint. After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, there are five survivors stranded on a single lifeboat – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, a sixteen-year-old boy and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive?

Divesh Subaskaran gave an astounding performance, the vulnerability he displayed created a visceral reaction from the audience. Subaskaran demanded the audience’s attention from the offset using his exceptional storytelling. Subaskaran had such a natural approach to the character, embodying the humble nature of the character. Subaskaran had such a childlike energy when moving around the stage leaping and pouncing, the animalistic nature to his physicality in contrast to the mentality of the survivor who tries to create solace through spirituality is beautiful.

The artistry of the puppeteering throughout this production was astounding, a huge mention must be given to the puppet and movement director Finn Caldwell. Several artists are required to bring the incredible Richard Parker to life including Antony Antunes, Sebastian Goffin, Akash Heer, Romina Hytten, Aizah Khan, Katie Kennedy-Rose, Kate Rowsell, Tom Stacy and Peter Twose. These artists fully immersed themselves in the character of Richard Parker, using body language to portray the animals instincts, their portrayal was utter perfection from movement to breathing their use of puppetry was inspiring.

Sonya Venugopal as Rani has a difficult character to embody, the character within the play lacks depth. Venugopal found a way to create a nicely balanced version of Rani throughout the production, enticing the audience with her playful relationship with her brother.

Goldy Notay as Amma was exceptional, her character was radiant and warmed the hearts of the audience. Throughout the performance she embraced the best qualities of motherhood, Notay was charming and inviting. Notay found great moments to use her facial expressions and posture as a means of indicating her true feelings and the context of her actions in between dialogue.

Ralph Birtwell as Father had a great tone of voice, he used an authoritative tone and assertiveness to demand the attention of not only his family but the audience. At times the emotion of his character felt slightly forced and inauthentic, however, for the most part his emotional journey was gut wrenching to follow. Bhawna Bhawsar and Sharita Oomeer as Lulu Chen/Mrs Biology Kumar showed real versatility. Although both characters shared similar qualities and influence, these actors found a way to differentiate the two in creative ways.

Chand Martinez as Mamaji/Pandit-Ji and Admiral Balbir Singh displayed a great character range. Martinez as mamaji brought a real lightness and humour to the production, despite only being on stage for a short period of time this character created a memorable experience for the audience. Antony Antunes and Peter Twose as Cook/Father Martin displayed two characters which were at complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Antunes used his character choices well to ensure he was almost unrecognisable as one or the other. Antunes used his physicality to assert dominance as the cook, creating a real villain for the audience to fear.

Lilian Tsang as Mrs Okamoto, Mrs Khan and Ship’s Captain showed complete dedication to her craft. Using a naturalistic approach as Mrs Okamoto, Tsang delved into the difficult nature of the character and the complexity of human nature. You can tell a lot of thought had gone into the character development of Tsang’s characters as her characters were fully fledged out.

Vinesh Veerasami as the russian sailor created a brilliant atmosphere within the theatre, Veerasami had an amazing energy on stage which translated throughout the performance. Despite the language barrier displayed as part of the performance, Veerasami was able to translate exactly how the audience were supposed to feel using his physicality and facial expression as a means of communication.

Director Max Webster has created an absolute masterpiece, despite the grandeur of the visual design, the dialogue and the play itself is somewhat subdued. The piece remains intimate at its core and focused on the storytelling. The movement is highly energetic and we see so many innovative creations in terms of the blocking and how Pi interacts with the set.

Set and costume designer Tim Hatley has smashed it out the park with this performance. Hatley’s creativity shines throughout this performance transporting us to different worlds. The set is multifaceted and is used in extremely creative ways – creating intimate homely spaces to vast oceans. The use of this set worked extremely well alongside Andrzej Goulding’s video design. The video elements and material used throughout the performance gave the set an extra wow factor. The lighting by Tim Lutkin and Tim Deiling was extremely creative; they used lighting not only to heighten the emotion of the performance but also to draw attention to the extreme detail of the puppetry. At times when viewing Richard Parker the rest of the stage was grey/black to emphasise the beautiful colour and each movement from the puppet. The sound design by Carolyn Downing played a great part in heightening the emotion of the performance. It encouraged the audience to experience the emotional journey with Pi and fully immerse themselves in the world of the play.

‘The Life of Pi’ is a visually astounding production that delves into human nature’s complexity. It explores the imbalance of science and fact versus spirituality and fulfillment. As it is adapted from a novel there are certainly times where the dialogue feels slightly out of turn, Pi is extremely philosophical and endearing, however, we feel we miss the key moments that led to some of his revelations. The energy of the piece is phenomenal. The energy paired with the artistry in terms of lighting, video and set design will have a lasting imprint on audiences and inspire generations of artists to come.