Review: LIFE OF PI Opens at Edmonton's Citadel Theatre

Since its 2001 publication, Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, has captivated readers around the world. Nearly two decades and an Academy Award-winning film adaptation later, the extraordinary story made its live theatre debut in Sheffield, England before transferring to London’s West End. Now, the Olivier Award-winning play embarks on its highly anticipated run at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre.  

The curtain rises on the Mexican hospital room housing 17-year-old shipwreck survivor, Piscine “Pi” Molitor Patel. He receives two visitors- a shipping company representative and a Canadian embassy official- who question him about his time aboard the doomed cargo ship and the harrowing 227 days after the sinking. According to Pi, he was far from alone in his unmoored lifeboat: he was accompanied by a hyena, an orangutan, an injured zebra, and a Royal Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Starving and exhausted, Pi watched his animal counterparts die off, leaving him with only the fearsome tiger for company.  

Through a series of flashbacks, the production whisks the audience back in time to before the fateful sinking. We see the gregarious Pi (Davinder Malhi) and his sister, Rani (Anaka Maharaj-Sandhu) squabble in their family’s zoo in Pondicherry, India. Eventually, the Patels leave behind their city’s increasing political unrest, boarding a Canada-bound cargo ship along with their crated zoo animals. 

The transitions between the past and present are nearly seamless – each scene is masterfully crafted, combining striking visuals with poignant storytelling. Beyata Hackborn’s set design brings to life the Patel’s oasis-like zoo, the storm-battered ship, and the unpredictable open sea. April Viczko’s lighting is so atmospheric that the audience can almost feel the blazing Indian heat and the sting of the frigid Pacific Ocean. Corwin Ferguson’s video design further heightens not only the story’s sense of urgency but its whimsy. In one particularly memorable scene, the near-delirious Pi discovers a survival guidebook in the lifeboat; the book’s pages flash across the video screen while the author, Admiral Jackson (Garrett Ross) pops up to exuberantly narrate. 

As if Life of Pi’s visuals weren’t striking enough, they feature several intricate, often life-sized animal puppets. Richard Parker is a seething, majestic predator, whose sleek frame is guided by puppeteers Troy Feldman and Braydon Dowler-Coltman. However, for all its ethereal qualities, the show still has plenty of bite; it lays bare every harrowing detail of Pi’s fight for survival and the trauma that later haunts him on solid ground. It is an unforgettable theatrical experience that will captivate audiences from beginning to end.  

Life of Pi plays at the Citadel’s Shoctor Theatre until October 5.