⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Quite simply, spectacular!
Life of Pi is at Birmingham Hippodrome until the 17th February 2024, and we headed along as a family today. The girls decided they really wanted to see it too, so I purchased some more tickets last night so that they could come along too.
Top Tip: For certain rows, you can get an adult ticket and then a ticket for a child, half price! Bargain!
The show, aimed at those aged 8 and above (due to scenes of death, animal cruelty, and murder), had us all in awe, fixated on the stage. The puppetry and visuals are cleverly combined to bring the whole show alive before your very eyes. I am not sure in the 100+ theatre shows I’ve watched over the years that I have ever seen puppetry as good as this. From fish gracefully gliding through the choppy sea to the strength, agility and stealth of the Bengal Tiger.
Based on the best-selling book by Yann Martel, the show follows the journey of Pi (Divesh Subaskaran), the son of a Zoo owner, who finds himself stranded on a lifeboat after an epic storm in the Pacific Ocean floods the cargo ship he is travelling on. Pi isn’t alone, though, he has four other survivors with him – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Royal Bengal tiger.
This is a story that transports you through the depths of imagination and the resilience of the human spirit. What lengths do you go to, to survive? This production masterfully intertwines lighting, sound effects, puppetry and powerful acting to create a stage sensation. Every action, so cleverly thought of. Sounds, sights, and lights.
The cast skillfully brought to life the complex characters of the story. My particular favourite being the relationship between Pi and the Bengal Tiger ‘Richard Parker’. From initial fear and mistrust to eventual companionship and mutual respect. Divesh Subaskaran had the audience in the palm of his hand during this show, which deserves huge respect as Life of Pi marks Divesh’s professional debut.
The whole cast worked beautifully together, and I’m going to be singing the praises of this show for a long time to come.
Book tickets to see the show, here: https://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/
Where else can you see it in the Midlands?
See it at Birmingham Hippodrome until 17th February when it then tours other Midlands theatres, including Curve Leicester 12th-17th March, Royal Derngate, Northampton 2nd – 6th April, Royal Nottingham 15th – 20th April, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre 23rd – 27th April, Theatre Severn Shrewsbury 7th – 11th May and Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham 11th – 15th June. How lucky are we in the Midlands with so many opportunities to catch this wonderful stage show.