Lolita Chakrabarti’s dazzling Olivier Award-winning stage adaptation of Life of Pi, starring an extraordinary life-size puppeteered Bengal Tiger today confirms that it will follow its year-long UK and Ireland tour with added international tour dates including:
CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto 3 September – 5 October
Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi 13 November – 17 November
The Grand Theatre, Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, Mumbai 5 Dec – 22 Dec
Of the production’s international extension, Producer, Simon Friend says: “It is with great excitement that we can announce the successful UK tour of LIFE OF PI will be extended to Toronto’s Ed Mirvish Theatre, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena and then, finally, the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai, where we have always hoped the production would one day be presented. From its beginnings in Sheffield, Life of Pi has now played over 1,000 performances and has been seen by over 800,000 people. The Mirvish Organisation, Etihad Arena and Reliance Industries have been wonderful partners in enabling this adventure to continue across continents.”
Last year the spellbinding show made its Broadway premiere at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater where it opened on 9 March 2023 and – having opened to celebratory reviews – added three Tony Awards to its impressive number of trophies, scooping Best Scenic Design of a Play (Tim Hatley & Andrzej Goulding) and Best Lighting Design of a Play (Tim Lutkin) and Best Sound Design of a Play (Carolyn Downing) at the 2023 awards.
Life of Pi won five Olivier Awards in April 2022. As well as Best New Play, and Best Actor for Hiran Abeysekera (the original Pi); in an historic first for the Olivier Awards – the seven performers who puppeteer the Tiger ‘Richard Parker’ were collectively awarded Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The production also picked up awards for set (Tim Hatley, Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell), and lighting design (Tim Lutkin and Andrzej Goulding).
Life of Pi began its first-ever tour of the UK and Ireland at Sheffield’s Lyceum last August and is due to make final stops at the Cheltenham Everyman Theatre, Glasgow Theatre Royal, Edinburgh Festival Theatre and The Lowry in Salford, where the production returns for a final triumphant end to the tour, having played a five-week festive season there at Christmas.
Life of Pi, which concluded its West End run on 15 January 2023, first opened to critical acclaim at the Crucible theatre in Sheffield in 2019. Previous international commitments for the show include its North American Premiere at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University where it ran from 4 December 2022 to 29 January 2023, followed by its Broadway premiere at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater where it opened on 9 March 2024.
The production is Directed by Max Webster, Set and Costume Designer is Tim Hatley, the Puppet Designers are Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, the Puppet and Movement Director is Finn Caldwell, the Video Designer is Andrzej Goulding, the Lighting Designer is Tim Lutkin, the Sound Designer is Carolyn Downing, the Composer is Andrew T Mackay, Dramaturgy is by Jack Bradley, the Casting Director is Polly Jerrold, the Associate Director is Leigh Toney, the Associate Puppetry and Movement Director is Scarlet Wilderink, the Associate Set Designer is Ross Edwards, the Associate Puppet Designer is Caroline Bowman, the Costume Supervisor is Sabrina Cuniberto and the Props Supervisor is Ryan O’Conner.
