West End hit Life of Pi is coming to Norwich this month

The West End hit play, based on the book by Yann Martel, will be at the city venue from September 25 to 30 2023 and it is an epic journey of endurance and hope. 

After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, there are five survivors stranded on a single lifeboat – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, a sixteen-year-old boy and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.

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Life of Pi features spectacular puppetry (Image: Johan Persson)

Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive? 

Life of Pi won five Olivier Awards in 2022, including Best New Play, Best Actor and, in a historic first, the seven performers who puppeteer the Tiger Richard Parker were collectively awarded Best Actor in a Supporting Role.  

Speaking about the show, Divesh Subaskaran, who plays the title role of Pi, said: "It's a story about human nature and the animalistic side of human beings.

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"Ultimately, it is about survival and how we have this dual nature that comes into conflict sometimes. And a story about being on a boat with a tiger for a year–what's not exciting about that!" 

Lolita Chakrabarti's stage adaptation of Life of Pi stars an extraordinary life-size puppeteered Bengal Tiger.

West End hit play Life of Pi won five Olivier Awards in 2022 (Image: Johan Persson)

Mr Subaskaran added: "It is sometimes pretty scary being up there. The tiger has been built to look like a real thing, and it has a mind of its own."

Make an evening of it at the Theatre Royal with the Hosted Lounge, an exclusive experience that includes drinks and an interval ice cream.

To book visit norwichtheatre.org or call the Box Office on 01603 630 000.  

Pick up a copy of Friday's Eastern Daily Press or Norwich Evening News for a chance to win tickets to the show.