LIFE OF PI Opens at Ambani Cultural Centre

The original Olivier and Tony Award-winning production of Life of Pi opens tonight at the Grand Theatre in Mumbai’s state-of-the-art Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC). Featuring a largely south Asian-heritage cast, tonight’s premiere represents “a homecoming” for the production, according to playwright Lolita Chakrabarti.

NMACC was launched by Mrs. Nita Ambani on 31 March 2023. The Grand Theatre has a 2,000-seat auditorium across three levels, described as “the most technologically advanced theatre in India".This is the first West End production of a play at the new multidisciplinary art and culture destination.

The production ran for 14 months in the West End, five months on Broadway, followed by an 11-month UK tour and a short engagement in Abu Dhabi. This leg of the tour will conclude with three weeks at NMACC, until 22 December 2024, and next week the year-long US tour begins in Baltimore, followed by a separate production touring China and Taiwan from next March for four months.

Simon Friend, producer of Life of Pi commented: “The entire team, including the hundreds of artists and technicians involved in Life of Pi, are enormously grateful to Mrs. Nita Ambani and Reliance Industries for bringing our show to the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre. It is likely the most impressive venue in which the production (or any of our productions!) has been presented. To be the first West End and Broadway play to visit the Cultural Centre is an honour and a thrilling adventure too, just like the show that will open there tonight.” 

Lolita Chakrabarti commented: “Life of Pi has had an incredible journey so far. To have the current UK company finish their 16-month tour in Mumbai is an extraordinary privilege. This is a story of an Indian family and their son’s fight for survival against all odds. On stage we create Pondicherry, the Pacific Ocean, Mexico and have a UK cast of international heritage. I am so proud of this show and what we have made and it feels like a homecoming bringing it to the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai.”

Led by Divesh Subaskaran as Pi, the cast also features Goldy Notay, Ralph Birtwell, Sonya Venugopal, Sharita Oomeer, Bhawna Bhawsar, Chand Martinez, Lilian Tsang, Vinesh Veeraswami, Adwitha Arumugam, Antony Atunes, Peter Twose, Romina Hytten, Akash Heer, Aizak Khan, Kate Rowsell, Katie Kennedy-Rose, Sebastian Goffin and Tom Stacy. The production is directed by Max Webster, set and costume design by Tim Hatley, puppetry and movement direction by Finn Caldwell, puppetry design by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, video design by Andrzej Goulding, lighting design by Tim Lutkin and Tim Deiling, sound design by Carolyn Downing, original musical composition by Andrew T Mackay, and associate direction by Leigh Toney and associate puppetry direction by Scarlet Wilderink.

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