Lolita Chakrabarti’s Olivier-winning stage adaption of Life of Pi will hit the road beginning in 2023. The stage version of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel will begin a tour of the U.K. and Ireland next year.
The tour will kick off at Sheffield Lyceum beginning August 28, 2023, with stops following at Milton Keynes Theatre, Norwich Theatre Royal, Southend Cliffs Pavillion, Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, Chichester Festival Theatre, Lowry in Salford, Bristol Hippodrome, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Theatre Royal Brighton, Birmingham Hippodrome, Grand Opera House in Belfast, Bord Gáis Theatre in Dublin, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Leicester Curve, Hull New Theatre, Coventry Belgrade, Nottingham Theatre Royal, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Liverpool Empire, Severn Theatre in Shrewsbury, Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, Cheltenham Everyman Theatre, Glasgow Theatre Royal, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Leeds Grand Theatre, and Northampton Derngate Theatre.
"It is incredible to begin this tour at Sheffield Theatres, where Life of Pi began its journey," said Chakrabarti in a statement. The show first opened to critical acclaim at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 2019.
Life of Pi currently plays in the West End at Wyndham's Theatre through January 15, 2023, and will soon make its North American premiere at American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. Performances will begin December 4 at the Cambridge, Massachusetts theatre for a run through January 29, 2023 ahead of its Broadway debut.
SEE: Go Inside the Rehearsal Room for Life of Pi at American Repertory Theater
Based on Yann Martel's best-selling and Man Booker Prize-winning novel, Life of Pi follows five survivors of a cargo ship sinking in the Pacific Ocean who have found temporary safety in a lifeboat. Among the lifeboat's five passengers are 16-year-old boy Pi, a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.
The creative team is helmed by director Max Webster, with scenic and costume design by Tony Award winner Tim Hatley, and puppetry and movement direction by Finn Caldwell, who designed the puppets along with Nick Barnes. The creative team also includes lighting design by Tim Lutkin, video design by Andrzej Goulding, sound design by Carolyn Downing, original composition by Andrew T. Mackay, and dramaturgy by Jack Bradley. Polly Jerrold serves as casting director. Tour casting will be announced at a later date.
The work's West End production took home five 2022 Olivier Awards, including Best Play and Best Supporting Actor, the latter awarded collectively to the team of puppeteers who play the tiger. Following the U.K. and Ireland tour will be a European tour, with further plans in the works for a tour of Australia and Asia.
Life of Pi is produced by Simon Friend in association with Playing Field and Tulchin/Bartner.
For tickets and more information, visit LifeOfPiOnStage.com.
Kazeem Tosin Amore, Davina Moon, Ameet Chana, and Tanvi Virmani in Life of Pi
Company of Life of Pi
Company of Life of Pi
Company of Life of Pi
Sakuntala Ramanee, Kumar Tanvi Virmani, and Davina Moon in Life of Pi
Puppeteer Elan James in Life of Pi
Company of Life of Pi
Company of Life of Pi
Nuwan Hugh Perera in Life of Pi
Chirag Benedict Lobo in Life of Pi
Chirag Benedict Lobo in Life of Pi
Chirag Benedict Lobo with puppeteers Rebecca Killick and Tom Stacy in Life of Pi
Nuwan Hugh Perera in Life of Pi
Nuwan Hugh Perera and puppeteer Owain Gwynn in Life of Pi
Nuwan Hugh Perera and company of Life of Pi
Nuwan Hugh Perera and puppeteer Owain Gwynn in Life of Pi
Nuwan Hugh Perera and puppeteer Rebecca Killick in Life of Pi
Nuwan Hugh Perera in Life of Pi
Puppeteer Owain Gwynn and Nuwan Hugh Pererra in Life of Pi
Puppeteer Owain Gwynn, Ameet Chana, and Nuwan Hugh Perrera in Life of Pi
Puppeteers Rebecca Killick and Owain Gwynn in Life of Pi
Puppeteers Rebecca Killick and Elan James and company of Life of Pi
Puppeteers Rebecca Killick and Elan James, Nuwan Hugh Perera and Tom Espiner in Life of Pi
