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Post by Mark on Dec 23, 2021 22:06:46 GMT
Thoroughly enjoyed the matinee today. Haven’t seen the film or read the book so was good to see a new story on stage too. Very cleverly done, the staging in particular is exceptional, and I loved the actor playing Pi.
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Post by bob2010 on Dec 29, 2021 12:30:46 GMT
For those that don't mind buying tickets on the day as the performance, they have great prices at the online Half Price Ticket Booth (£30 for top tier seats). Good opportunity to use up Theatre Tokens! officiallondontheatre.com/tkts/?discount-only=true |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Jan 16, 2022 20:29:50 GMT
I thought this was great. I loved the book and so I have the classic "it's not as good as..." but regardless I totally recommend. He was truly terrible. As was the father. Absolutely flat delivery of every line. Pi however was absolutely marvellous. I’d like to see him Olivier nominated please. Without him, the show would be pretty turgid (wonderful puppetry aside of course) |
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Post by Dave B on Jan 30, 2022 10:46:27 GMT
There are a bunch of offers for March at the moment - including front row for £25. I have nabbed a couple for us (also had my first Stagedoor App loyalty booking to knock a further £10 off my booking). I did read back through some posts above re best seats and view but for £40 for a pair of tickets when we generally prefer to have things planned out rather than rush tickets... fingers crossed! Stagedoor link to have a look but if booking there, do use the app for loyalty card etc etc stagedoorapp.com/wyndhams-theatre/life-of-pi?p=1167 |
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Post by imstillhere on Jan 30, 2022 18:31:09 GMT
It's interesting that is being reduced already so soon after opening? Does this mean it's day are numbered? I presumed it would run for a very long time?
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Post by gmoneyoutlaw on Jan 30, 2022 21:14:22 GMT
There are a bunch of offers for March at the moment - including front row for £25. I have nabbed a couple for us (also had my first Stagedoor App loyalty booking to knock a further £10 off my booking). I did read back through some posts above re best seats and view but for £40 for a pair of tickets when we generally prefer to have things planned out rather than rush tickets... fingers crossed! Stagedoor link to have a look but if booking there, do use the app for loyalty card etc etc stagedoorapp.com/wyndhams-theatre/life-of-pi?p=1167I wouldn’t sit in the front row for this show. You may get skapped by a fish. |
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Post by showgirl on Jan 31, 2022 4:59:36 GMT
I've been wanting to see this do keeping an eye on availability and prices lately but couldn't see any offers whatsover - were these only for Stagedoor members, please, Dave B? I did look at random dates in March but nothing on the home page or the booking system itself indicating any offers. So probably a Rush ticket on the day for me. |
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Post by Dave B on Jan 31, 2022 10:02:55 GMT
I've been wanting to see this do keeping an eye on availability and prices lately but couldn't see any offers whatsover - were these only for Stagedoor members, please, Dave B ? I did look at random dates in March but nothing on the home page or the booking system itself indicating any offers. So probably a Rush ticket on the day for me.
No, I think anyone can book through Stagedoor - you only need an account in the same way you need one with TodayTix etc. If you take a look here:
This should show you weekdays through March with an an offer tag for, Mon, Wed and both Thurs performances
Note for the intro £10 discount, you do need a free account, to use the app and to opt in. I had opted in months ago, I find Stagedoor prices to occasionally have a good offer (notably Kiln looking at limited order history with Stagedoor) but generally don't book much through them.
Oh and edit to just add I am *not* a paying member of Stagedoor's Patron programme or anything like that so I'd imagine offers show as available to everyone.
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Post by Stephen on Feb 9, 2022 23:32:02 GMT
The audience this evening seemed to have seen the film/read the book but I'm glad that I went in knowing almost nothing about the story. For me the spectacle was the strongest element with impressive puppetry, lighting and projections. Pi was excellent. This production does rely on the spectacle and I felt it stronger than the story. {Spoiler - click to view}
I found the morality explanations at the ending a bit forced and unnecessary. It would have been nice just to see the reality (other version of Pi's story) played out without the comparisons then being drawn by the characters.
I would also have preferred the text at the end to have been typed out without the voice which I found jarring and too in your face too. 5 stars for the production, 3 stars for the story/book so a solid 4 overall! Lots of phones going off/audience leaving for the loo/rustling tonight. Nice to see a good mix of age groups though. Certainly not a family friendly show though. The stalls was fairly full this evening although my friend was moved down from the balcony so presumably this was closed. It's a shame that great plays such as this will struggle at the moment. When I walked down to Embankment afterwards, passing Drifter's Girl, the Garrick was bustling with coach trips. This play just won't get that business. I noticed a poster on sale at the interval with the lovely design on it. Too difficult to make it back to the shop at the end to purchase so have contacted the theatre for advice on how to get a hold of one (there doesn't appear to be an online shop) |
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Post by dlevi on Mar 13, 2022 17:43:45 GMT
I finally caught up with this and it was very much what I feared it would be in that it relied on spectacle for its success rather than actually being a solid play. It falls into the same category as The Ocean at the End of the Lane and The Book of Dust. These are touristy entertainments rather than serious dramatic works. I know that sounds snobbish, but I really miss good solid plays in the West End. I think War Horse ( which I loved) has a lot to answer for.
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Post by swill on Mar 13, 2022 19:25:52 GMT
I finally caught up with this and it was very much what I feared it would be in that it relied on spectacle for its success rather than actually being a solid play. It falls into the same category as The Ocean at the End of the Lane and The Book of Dust. These are touristy entertainments rather than serious dramatic works. I know that sounds snobbish, but I really miss good solid plays in the West End. I think War Horse ( which I loved) has a lot to answer for. Shame you didn’t enjoy it. I think that whilst they might be touristy. COVID means that this kind of thing is reliable and could’ve been very simple and uninspired just putting the film/book on stage, but the puppetry and set is outstanding for this as well as Pi himself. |
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Post by TallPaul on Mar 14, 2022 10:42:36 GMT
You couldn't move for tourists at the world-famous Crucible Theatre. I think I even heard a Rotherham accent.
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Post by dlevi on Mar 14, 2022 12:38:38 GMT
Shame you didn’t enjoy it. I think that whilst they might be touristy. COVID means that this kind of thing is reliable and could’ve been very simple and uninspired just putting the film/book on stage, but the puppetry and set is outstanding for this as well as Pi himself. I don't disagree but I feel as if we're embarking on yet another new genre of "family" entertainment in the tradition of the jukebox musical and moving further away from serious plays for serious theatregoers. T'was ever thus... |
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Post by Jon on Mar 14, 2022 12:49:44 GMT
There are still solid serious plays, To Kill a Mockingbird is one for example I think you have to accept that while the West End recovers from the last two years, theatre owners will want shows that put bums on seats.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2022 13:32:28 GMT
One of my least favorite shows from my trip to London earlier this year. I found the writing and acting so stilted (particularly the actors playing the investigators from Canada and China, and Pi’s father). Lovely staging, but overall a big “meh” for me.
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Post by c4ndyc4ne on Mar 14, 2022 19:40:07 GMT
I finally caught up with this and it was very much what I feared it would be in that it relied on spectacle for its success rather than actually being a solid play. It falls into the same category as The Ocean at the End of the Lane and The Book of Dust. These are touristy entertainments rather than serious dramatic works. I know that sounds snobbish, but I really miss good solid plays in the West End. I think War Horse ( which I loved) has a lot to answer for. To Kill A Mockingbird, Prima Facie, The Glass Menagerie, The Human Voice, The Seagull, Madhouse, Jerusalem - and that's just the commercial spaces in the next five months. Arguably the themes in LoP are even more weighty than half the 'good solid plays'. There's a whole meta-commentary about making the consequences of human evil digestible. |
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Post by Jon on Mar 14, 2022 20:17:28 GMT
To Kill A Mockingbird, Prima Facie, The Glass Menagerie, The Human Voice, The Seagull, Madhouse, Jerusalem - and that's just the commercial spaces in the next five months. Arguably the themes in LoP are even more weighty than half the 'good solid plays'. There's a whole meta-commentary about making the consequences of human evil digestible. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is not exactly family friendly either! |
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Post by dlevi on Mar 15, 2022 8:00:11 GMT
To Kill A Mockingbird, Prima Facie, The Glass Menagerie, The Human Voice, The Seagull, Madhouse, Jerusalem - and that's just the commercial spaces in the next five months. To be fair though, 3 of the seven are in one theatre, and all but one of them ( Mockingbird ) are limited engagements. And despite the weightiness of the themes of both "Life of Pi" and " Ocean at the End of the Lane" (as well as "War Horse" before them) I felt that the plays themselves aren't "the thing". And I'm saddened by the fact that a genuinely serious play has a hard time having an open-ended run in the West End. |
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Post by Rory on Mar 15, 2022 9:01:11 GMT
To Kill A Mockingbird, Prima Facie, The Glass Menagerie, The Human Voice, The Seagull, Madhouse, Jerusalem - and that's just the commercial spaces in the next five months. To be fair though, 3 of the seven are in one theatre, and all but one of them ( Mockingbird ) are limited engagements. And despite the weightiness of the themes of both "Life of Pi" and " Ocean at the End of the Lane" (as well as "War Horse" before them) I felt that the plays themselves aren't "the thing". And I'm saddened by the fact that a genuinely serious play has a hard time having an open-ended run in the West End. I agree with you, but at the minute there are very few available West End theatres for transfers or plays, which is why places like the Ambassadors are now becoming sought after. Presently there are a lot of musicals in playhouses (e.g. The Drifters Girl at the Garrick, Jersey Boys at the Trafalgar, Dear Evan Hansen at the Noel Coward) as was the case a few years ago. However the tides turn. There was a slate of great plays running or lined up pre covid, but in this post pandemic recovery period, producers are trying to get bums back on seats. Can't blame them but hopefully there will in short time be a return to a diverse range of good plays. Personally, I actually would love to see a brilliant version of a good play with a nice static set and no particular theatrical bells and whistles. Old school, for a change. |
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Post by Jon on Mar 15, 2022 11:41:46 GMT
It was pretty rare for a serious play to be open ended even before Covid. The only serious play I can think of which ran longer than six months was The Ferryman back in 2017.
Surely it's a good thing that we have plays like Pi and Ocean which are bringing in new and younger audiences and be successful, we don't want theatres to do be dark for long periods of time.
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Post by mrnutz on Mar 26, 2022 10:11:10 GMT
Really enjoyed this last night - so imaginatively staged with some breathtaking moments and a fantastic performance from the actor playing Pi.
Some weak links for me in the cast, the dad in particular, but overall a brilliant show. 4/5
Audience behaviour was fairly good, though I did see two people filming on their phones at different points and a couple who couldn't keep their hands off each other in a very visible dress circle box. 🙄
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Post by stagebyte on Apr 2, 2022 0:00:23 GMT
Those who have seen this in London
Best place to appreciate the spectacle?.
Stalls or circle?
Thanks
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Post by Being Alive on Apr 2, 2022 0:02:07 GMT
Those who have seen this in London Best place to appreciate the spectacle?. Stalls or circle? Thanks Circle. I gave it 4 stars because being in the 3rd row of the stalls I missed all the floor projections. |
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Post by mrnutz on Apr 2, 2022 8:25:55 GMT
Those who have seen this in London Best place to appreciate the spectacle?. Stalls or circle? Thanks I was row F in the stalls and really enjoyed proximity to puppets and seeing entrances and exits via the side doors. Not sure you'd get that in the circle. |
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Post by daber on Apr 2, 2022 8:57:41 GMT
Circle foe me. Floor projections are worth seeing and part of the show
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