Citizens Theatre, Glasgow
4 stars
Whether Yann Martel’s Man Booker Prize winning novel is one of the best-sellers named in a Teletext survey that nobody actually reads has yet to be disseminated. If so, coffee table purchasers desperate to impress dinner party guests rather than be enlightened could do worse than brush up via this rollickingly vivid stage version from Bradford’s multi-racial Twisting Yarn company.
Here they’ll be sucked into the world of Pi Patel, the bright-eyed Indian boy who believes in God so much that he becomes not just a Hindu, but a Christian and a Muslim too. Brought up in his parents zoo, he sets sail for Canada with a zebra, an orang utan called Orange Juice and a tiger called Richard Parker in tow. When their ship is sunk, alas, Pi and his increasingly magical companions must learn to fend for themselves.
Director Keith Robinson, writer Andy Rashleigh and – crucially – designer Naomi Parker themselves embarked on an awfully big adventure when they opted to stage Martel’s opus with only six actors. Neatly condensed into a two hour show, however, they’ve worked miracles with a yarn that’s part religious debate and part rites of passage. Tony Hasnah is a little charmer as Pi, with an equally perky ensemble illustrating the multi-coloured imaginings that help him survive a world that prefers hard fact over fantasy.
One suspects Twisting Yarn’s core funders operate in a similarly dreary manner as they prepare to axe their input. Given that the company are the sole body approved by Martel to produce this stage version, Bradford Council are effectively robbing audiences of a rich and vital experience that’s unlikely to be repeated. Jesus, Mary, Mohammed and Vashni indeed.
The Herald, March 16th 2007
ends
4 stars
Whether Yann Martel’s Man Booker Prize winning novel is one of the best-sellers named in a Teletext survey that nobody actually reads has yet to be disseminated. If so, coffee table purchasers desperate to impress dinner party guests rather than be enlightened could do worse than brush up via this rollickingly vivid stage version from Bradford’s multi-racial Twisting Yarn company.
Here they’ll be sucked into the world of Pi Patel, the bright-eyed Indian boy who believes in God so much that he becomes not just a Hindu, but a Christian and a Muslim too. Brought up in his parents zoo, he sets sail for Canada with a zebra, an orang utan called Orange Juice and a tiger called Richard Parker in tow. When their ship is sunk, alas, Pi and his increasingly magical companions must learn to fend for themselves.
Director Keith Robinson, writer Andy Rashleigh and – crucially – designer Naomi Parker themselves embarked on an awfully big adventure when they opted to stage Martel’s opus with only six actors. Neatly condensed into a two hour show, however, they’ve worked miracles with a yarn that’s part religious debate and part rites of passage. Tony Hasnah is a little charmer as Pi, with an equally perky ensemble illustrating the multi-coloured imaginings that help him survive a world that prefers hard fact over fantasy.
One suspects Twisting Yarn’s core funders operate in a similarly dreary manner as they prepare to axe their input. Given that the company are the sole body approved by Martel to produce this stage version, Bradford Council are effectively robbing audiences of a rich and vital experience that’s unlikely to be repeated. Jesus, Mary, Mohammed and Vashni indeed.
The Herald, March 16th 2007
ends
Comments