Life of Pi – Leeds Grand Theatre And Opera House Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Lisa Harris
Winner of 5 Olivier awards including best lighting design and best set design, and three Tonys including Best sound design, best scenic design and best lighting design, it is not hard to see why.
The performance kept me interested and stand out for me was the quality of the puppetry direction, the use of lighting and stage transitions. I realised I was spending time appreciating just how well done these aspects were and at times listening less to what was actually happening – this is a big compliment!
The lighting and sound department do absolutely deserve acknowledgement and high praise, the puppetry and movement are truly something to behold, particularly of course Richard Parker (the tiger played by Fred Davis, Kate Rowsell and Peter Twose) however each animal had each movement “it” made down to a genuine fine art. I am in awe of the co-ordination and accuracy I saw before me. As the Mail on Sunday reports, “The puppetry is out of this world” and they are not wrong.
There was a lot of physical energy on the stage, we were taken on a journey at sea and felt the motion as well as emotion of the story, thanks to the combination of direction, choreography, character action and production.
The atmosphere in the audience was of interest and admiration for the cohesive experience before us, engaged and engrossed in the story that unfolded, chuckling at the one liners from Pi (Divesh Subaskaran) and following the details in the story we were watching. It would be hard to say which actor stood out, as throughout it was clear how much effort, rehearsal and co-ordination was necessary to produce such a sleek performance from everyone involved. I felt engaged with each character and animal and invested in their part of Pi’s life.
That said, this is Divesh’s professional debut after training at RADA so for that I feel acknowledgement and praise is entirely appropriate and warranted.
Essentially a story of trauma and loss, there were less sad moments than I was expecting and more chuckles from the script than I anticipated as Pi’s humour was perhaps unintentionally very dry.
This show is a theatrical experience rather than just a story.
Not all together suitable for children perhaps, due to the death (and portrayed eating) of characters both animal and human, I would imagine, although sensitively portrayed this could distress youngsters.
The show ran for 2 hours ten with a standard interval. Life of Pi is on tour until the end of June 2024.
Venue & facilities
The theatre itself is beautiful and quite something to be seen, we weren’t the only ones admiring and taking photos from our seats.
Toilet facilities were clean and well stocked with handwash and paper, there were a fair number of cubicles also so not too long a queue.
We were sitting in the Stalls in row J. Our view was uninterrupted and we could see the stage clearly. My only comment regarding the seating is the that although being on a gradient means that your view is better, as the floor was wooden there is the risk of things rolling away towards the stage – as I discovered!
Leg room was better than some theatres and our seats were definitely comfortable.
I would say the ticket was fair value for money.
Reviewed by: Lisa Harris
Rating: 4/5
Price of tickets : £27-£52
https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/life-of-pi/
Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House , New Briggate , Leeds, LS1 6NU