Life of Pi
“I’m not really sure I want to go, I’ve seen the movie and I know the twist and stuff at the end, I don’t think I’ll enjoy it”
These were the words that I spoke to the small group of us huddling in a small hotel room as we bought tickets and planned the shows we wanted to see in the coming weeks. I ended up being convinced by some of the others and by telling myself that I should see all of the shows I am able to, even if I’m not particularly excited to see them. Get the experience while I can when I’m here. And I am glad I did.
Life of Pi was my favorite piece of theatre I have seen ever. It was an enthralling show that was a technical masterpiece. With every scene that was presented on stage it brought on with it a new fantastical technique that had not been shown before. In one scene you are transported to a zoo with cages containing animals. Another transition and the wall break apart revealing a bustling street market. The next is a cargo ship with a trap door to the lower deck. The list goes on. With every transition to a different area, it was always a 20 second visible transition away from being the hospital bed again.
Puppetry played an enormous role in this production as every animal was multiple people playing a puppet. It was extremely easy to give into the suspension of disbelief that the animals were just animals with no one controlling them. The actors controlling the puppets were either in black or tan clothes depending on the animal, this allowed them to almost bleed into the background of wherever the animal was standing or laying. I think what made this so effective was that they were not truly trying to hide the actors. They didn’t cower away, or hide under a sheet. They were so focused on creating the most life-like depictions of animal puppetry, that you could only focus on the subtle movements and sounds of the animals. The rising and falling of the chest of a zebra, the curling moving tail of the tiger, or the loud noises of the orangutan superseded any of the focus of the puppeteers.
Projections were used in this production to an extent I have never imagined before. They were used to create the texturing on the hospital wall or the metallic hue of the cargo ship. The crashing of seemingly three dimensional waves against an actually 3D lifeboat that rose from the stage.
This theatre experience was truly one I will never forget. This was a play driven by passion, professionalism, love and talent. Nothing was held back and every choice made furthered the story and characters.
Follow this link to see a short 2 minute walkthrough of some of the technical elements.
Theatre in London U of A 