30 November,2024 11:43 AM IST | Mumbai | Nasrin Modak Siddiqi
Yann Martel
When Yann Martel's book Life of Pi came out in 2001, actor and playwright Lolita Chakrabarti fell in love with its intricacies. Little did she know that 15 years later, British producer Simon Friend, who had acquired its stage adaptation rights, would ask her to bring it to life for the theatre. "I jumped at the chance," she recalls, "though I had no idea how to approach it." The 2002 Man Booker winner's complexity, with its lack of a traditional central storyline and its compelling but fragmented chapters, posed a unique challenge. Undeterred, Chakrabarti took a highlighter to the book, organising its elements - family, faith, survival, zoo life, animals, and philosophy - into thematic segments that could shape the framework of her adaptation.
The story's spine is straightforward: A boy, Piscine Moliter, emigrates from Pondicherry to Canada with his family and their zoo animals. Shipwrecked, Pi ends up stranded on a lifeboat with four wild animals. He survives 227 days at sea before being rescued. For the play, which will premiere on December 5 at NMACC, BKC many elements - puppetry, video projection, music, and sound design - have been combined to transform a flat stage into a dynamic seascape. Moments of the lifeboat battling rain and the sun's oppressive heat feel viscerally real, and various elements coalesce to create an immersive world.
While every part of the book was challenging to translate, two elements stood out for Chakrabarti: the portrayal of animals and the exploration of faith. "Animals don't converse in human terms, so we had to interpret their interactions with Pi while ensuring their personalities, needs, and challenges came through. This involved close collaboration with Director Max Webster and puppet co-designer Finn Caldwell. Together, we worked to imagine how wild animals would behave on a lifeboat, addressing key questions: What would stop a tiger from eating a boy? How would they co-exist? The resulting exchanges between Pi and the animals are nuanced, blending human dialogue with non-verbal animal expression."
Faith, a major theme in Martel's book, was another challenge. The novel explores Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam without mocking the religions themselves, instead highlighting the quirks of their practitioners. "For the stage, presenting faith in a way that wasn't preachy or dull required careful balancing," says Chakrabarti. "Faith extends beyond religion in the story, encompassing trust in oneself, family, and the cosmos. This idea informed Pi's journey as he discovers faith in his resilience while grappling with life-or-death situations."
Writing a play is a solitary enterprise - you're crafting a map to draw in the audience. As the cartographer, Chakrabarti had to ensure the script was watertight, with each character's desires, frustrations, and triumphs articulated clearly. When the cast and crew joined, their input enriched the production. Actors questioned lines that felt unnatural, leading her to refine the dialogue. Designers and movement specialists added layers with visual and physical elements, such as a sea teeming with fish, which she integrated into the script.
Lolita Chakrabarti
The animals - constructed from lightweight, durable materials and textured like driftwood to evoke a shipwreck - are brought to life by teams of puppeteers. Richard Parker, the tiger, for instance, requires three. The result is a breathtaking blend of realism and artistry, maintaining the animals' wild, dangerous nature - essential to preserving the story's tension. "During rehearsals," puppeteer Katie Kennedy Rose shares, "we focused extensively on conditioning to build the strength and endurance required for such physically demanding roles. Many of the positions we adopt as puppeteers engage certain muscle groups, so consistent training is essential to prepare our bodies.
Before each performance, the three puppeteers playing the tiger hold a sound bath ritual - standing in a circle, holding hands, and improvising tiger sound to synchronise as a team. "This practice is especially crucial," says Kennedy Rose, "because we often rotate teams, altering Richard Parker's dynamic, personality, and emotions. These moments of connection are key to grounding the performance."
Maintaining energy for multiple performances requires serious care, almost athletic, Kennedy Rose tells us. Proper sleep, nutrition, and recovery routines are non-negotiable. "Ice baths, muscle rolling, and physiotherapy are part of our daily regimen to keep our bodies in shape," she says. "Performing eight shows a week at peak intensity is demanding, but staying attuned to how your body feels and addressing its needs makes it possible to deliver consistent, high-quality performances."
Coming to Mumbai soon, the excitement among the cast and crew is palpable. "It feels like a homecoming," says Chakrabarti, adding, "It's a story written by a white Canadian man of an Indian family that goes to Canada, gets shipwrecked in the Pacific and ends up in Mexico with a Japanese shipping official inquiring about what happened. And it's adapted for the stage by a British South Asian writer - me."
When: Dec 5 to Dec 22
Where: NMACC, BKC
PRICE: Rs 1,200 onwards
