'A clever and breathtaking story of faith, imagination and endurance' – Our review of Life of Pi at Birmingham Hippodrome
Do you believe in God? Which story do you like best – with animals or humans? Would you be able to defy the odds to survive 227 days at sea with a Bengal tiger?
These soul-searching questions that explore the difficult relationship between spirituality and practicality, logic and imagination are what you are left asking yourself after this a five-star theatrical phenomenon.
Breath-taking visuals, an agile and fascinating use of puppetry, a small cast and magnificent use of stage setting brings Life Of Pi to the stage at Birmingham Hippodrome - and it runs until Saturday.
After a terrifying storm in the Pacific Ocean, Pi is stranded on a lifeboat with four other survivors – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger (called Richard Parker).
This story of endurance began life as a best-selling book by Yann Martel – but you may have also seen the Oscar-winning film.
The story is based around Piscine 'Pi' Patel, whose family own a zoo in Pondicherry - and he claims to have survived a shipwreck in a life-raft with a Bengal tiger in tow.
Divesh Subaskaran makes an amazing 'Pi' but the real stars of this production are those behind the puppets.
The sounds of the animals and the agility of movement of the cast controlling the puppets make you suspend disbelief and truly enter the world of Pi, which he begins from his hospital bed at the start, saying "I've had a terrible trip".
At the end you come away asking which of Pi's versions of his story that you like the best, which do you believe? One includes animals and one humans - but they are both centred around hope, God and survival. The production asks you is it actually a story about Pi's survivor's guilt?
In both stories, animal and human, there's the murder of three remaining survivors, vomit inducing scenes where a starving Pi is faced with eating Tiger faeces, killing living creatures to survive such as passing turtle (too drink its blood), Pi's quandry over whether he should eat meat to survive - and his overriding questions about faith and God.
This show is a must-see – it's clever, breathtaking and makes you question not only our will to survive (as animals and humans) but our faith and endurance. It highlights the beauty and fragility of life and how far we will all go to cling onto that.
The show runs until Saturday, February 17. Tickets are from £25. Recommended for ages 8 plus.
For more information visit https://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/
