Lolita Chakrabarti’s dazzling Olivier Award-winning stage adaption of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel Life of Pi, which finished its run in the West End on 15 January and stars an extraordinary life-size puppeteered Bengal tiger, begins its first ever tour of the UK at the Sheffield’s Lyceum theatre in August 2023, where it will run from 29 August to 16 September 2023.

Lolita Chakrabarti said: ‘It is incredible to begin this tour at Sheffield Theatres, where Life of Pi began its journey, and to start the tour across the country from this great city. It has been an extraordinary year in the West End and the success of the play has been both a privilege and a delight – from all the amazing awards to the standing ovations we get every night. It is testament to Yann Martel’s beautiful and moving story. I am so grateful for his trust and generosity in sharing it with me and allowing our amazing creative team to tell his story our way.’

Life of Pi first opened to critical acclaim at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 2019. The show won five Olivier Awards in April 2022; as well as Best New Play, and Best Actor for Hiran Abeysekera (the original Pi); in an historic first for the Olivier Awards – the seven performers who puppeteer the Tiger ‘Richard Parker’ were collectively awarded Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The production also picked up awards for set (Tim Hatley, Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell), and lighting design (Tim Lutkin and Andrzej Goulding).

Based on one of the best-loved works of fiction – winner of the Man Booker Prize, selling over fifteen million copies worldwide – Life of Pi is a breath-taking theatrical adaptation of 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. Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive?

Book at these Theatre Tokens venues:

Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield

29 August – 16 September 2023

Milton Keynes Theatre

19 – 23 September 2023

Cliffs Pavillion, Southend

9 – 14 October 2023

Alhambra Theatre, Bradford

6 – 11 November 2023

Chichester Festival Theatre

16 November – 2 December

The Lowry, Salford (Book online)