THREE 2022 OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING LIFE OF PI STARS TO MAKE THEIR BROADWAY DEBUTS REPRISING THE ROLES OF “PI” AND “RICHARD PARKER”
OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING “BEST ACTOR” HIRAN ABEYSEKERA TO LEAD BROADWAY CAST
OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING “BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR” PUPPETEERS FRED DAVIS & SCARLET WILDERINK JOIN BENGAL TIGER “RICHARD PARKER” TEAM
FIVE-TIME OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING BEST PLAY ROARS ONTO BROADWAY
BEGINNING PERFORMANCES AT THE GERALD SCHOENFELD THEATRE MARCH 9, 2023
Friday, February 10 - New York, NY) Lolita Chakrabarti’s dazzling stage adaption of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel LIFE OF PI will premiere at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street) with three Olivier Award-winning performers making their Broadway debuts. Recreating their critically acclaimed performances for Broadway will be “Best Actor” winner Hiran Abeysekera in the role of “Pi” and “Best Supporting Actor” winners Fred Davis and Scarlet Wilderink join the “Richard Parker” puppeteering team. The Broadway production of the five-time Olivier Award-winning London production of LIFE OF PI will feature Brian Thomas Abraham as Cook/Voice of “Richard Parker,” Rajesh Bose as Father, Avery Glymph as Father Martin/Russian Sailor/Rear Admiral Jackson, Mahira Kakkar as Nurse/Amma/Orange Juice, Kirstin Louie as Lulu Chen, Salma Qarnain as Mrs. Biology Kumar/Zaida Khan, Sathya Sridharan as Mamaji/Pandit-Ji, Daisuke Tsuji as Mr. Okamoto/Captain, Sonya Venugopal as Rani, with Nikki Calonge, Fred Davis, Rowan Ian Seamus Magee, Jonathan David Martin, Betsy Rosen, Celia Mei Rubin, Scarlet Wilderink and Andrew Wilson as Royal Bengal tiger “Richard Parker.” Mahnaz Damania, Jon Hoche, Usman Ali Mughal, Uma Paranjpe and David Shih round out the 24-member cast with Adi Dixit as the “Pi” alternate.
LIFE OF PI begins performances Thursday, March 9, 2023, and opens Thursday, March 30, 2023. Prior to the Broadway engagement, LIFE OF PI made its North American Premiere at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University.
LIFE OF PI is directed by Max Webster, with Set and Costume design by Olivier Award winner Tim Hatley, Puppetry and Movement Direction by Olivier Award winner Finn Caldwell, Puppet Design by Olivier Award winners Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, Video Design by Olivier Award winner Andrzej Goulding, Lighting Design by Olivier Award winner Tim Lutkin, Sound Design by Carolyn Downing, Original Music by Andrew T Mackay, Dramaturgy by Jack Bradley, Wig Design by David Brian Brown, and Casting by Stewart/Whitley.
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 new theatrical adaptation of an epic journey of endurance and hope.
After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, a sixteen-year-old boy name Pi is stranded on a lifeboat with four other survivors – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive?
LIFE OF PI on Broadway is produced by Simon Friend, Daryl Roth, Hal Luftig, Mark Gordon Pictures, Playing Field, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Gavin Kalin, Hunter Arnold, Hall Smalberg Winkler, 42nd.club, Elizabeth Armstrong, Eilene Davidson, deRoy Shea Waxman, Federman Jenen Productions, Susan Gallin, Independent Presenters Network, John Gore Organization, Kuhn Dodani, Harriet Newman Leve, Anastasia Muravyeva, Mary Lu Roffe, Catherine Schreiber, American Repertory Theatre and Sheffield Theatres, with Aaron Lustbader and Hanna Osmolska serving as Executive Producers.
LIFE OF PI played Wyndham’s Theatre in London’s West End where it won five Olivier Awards including Best New Play, Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design. In an historic first for the Olivier Awards, the seven performers who play Royal Bengal tiger “Richard Parker” were collectively awarded “Best Actor in a Supporting Role.” The London production with its cutting-edge visual effects has garnered great critical acclaim and will launch a UK & Ireland tour in the summer of 2023.
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
“LIFE OF PI is a feast for the eyes, The scenic design and especially the puppet design are flat-out extraordinary. Unforgettable.” - Boston Globe
★★★★★ “Breathtaking. It will make you believe in the power of theater.” – The Times of London
“LIFE OF PI is such a terrific show, it is absolutely made for the Theatre. There is an incredible beauty to the production, particularly in the puppetry used for the animals. The puppets are so finely rendered and breathtaking, and the puppeteers are masterful. Here is where the magic of the Theatre really works.” – GBH
★★★★★ “An extraordinary journey. Unmissable.” – The Guardian
“A wondrous spectacle. Fantastic fables can be challenging to realize onstage, but Max Webster's expert direction, the stunning work of puppeteers, Finn Caldwell, Nick Barnes, and Scarlet Wilderink and scenic designer Tim Hatley make Pi's adventure a wondrous spectacle. The unbelievable tale forces jaded viewers to suspend belief and immerse themselves in imagination.” – WBUR
“One of the most visually stunning shows I’ve ever seen.” – Time Out London
“When you see LIFE OF PI – and you should – you will likely feel your heart rate quicken at the sight of a puppet tiger. It’s hard not to focus on the specific spell the tiger casts. It’s the boldest, brightest creation, but around it, dozens of inventions large and small shine.” - The Boston Herald
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Hiran Abeysekera (PI) Training: RADA. Theatre: Botticelli in the Fire (Hampstead Theatre); Life of Pi (Sheffield Crucible Theatre); The Prisoner (Théâtre Des Bouffes Du Nord); Cymbeline, Hamlet; The Taming Of The Shrew (RSC); Peter Pan (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Behind the Beautiful Forevers and War Horse Prom (National Theatre); Rats Tales (Manchester Royal Exchange) and Tartuffe (English Touring Theatre). TV: Good Karma Hospital Series 4; Holby City; Find Me In Paris; A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Radio: Tumanbay; Broken Paradise; The Last Time I Saw Richard.
Adi Dixit (PI Alternate) A.R.T.: Debut. TV: “Young Sheldon.” Film: Sweethearts. Education/Training: Acting BFA, University of Southern California.
Brian Thomas Abraham (Cook/Voice of Richard Parker) (he/him/his) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 & 2 (original company, Hagrid). Regional: Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Group, Milwaukee Rep, Laguna Playhouse, San Diego Rep. TV: “Super Pumped,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “The Shield,” “Drake and Josh,” “Victorious,” “As The World Turns” (recurring). Film: The Cut Up (by Yussef El Guindi), The Housewife, Defensive Justice. VR180: The Fortune Teller (Director, multiple Virtual Reality Film Festival selections; streams 2023). Training: University of North Carolina School of The Arts. BrianThomasAbraham.com
Rajesh Bose (Father) (he/him/his) A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Pygmalion, The Crucible, Persuasion, Bedlam; Henry VI, NAATCO; Indian Ink, Roundabout; Against the Hillside, EST. Regional: This Much I Know, Aurora; Oslo, St. Louis Rep; Mary Stuart, Folger; Guards at the Taj, Capital Stage; Invisible Hand, Westport Country Playhouse, TheaterWorks Hartford; The Who & The What, Gulfshore Playhouse, TheaterWorks Hartford; Disgraced, Playmakers Rep, The Huntington, Long Wharf Theatre (Connecticut Critics Circle Award, IRNE Nomination). TV/Film: “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” “Bull,” “Quantico,” “Blue Bloods,” “Elementary,” “Damages,” Frozen River. Education: Emerson College.
Nikki Calonge (Richard Parker/Puppeteer) (she/her/hers/siya) A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Psychic Self Defense, HERE; Esperpento, Sundance Institute; She Counts Her Dresses, The Public Theater’s Under the Radar’s Incoming! Series; Electric Lucifer, The Kitchen; Daily Life Everlasting, Eterniday, LaMama; A Play on War, Connelly Theater. Awards: Tom Murrin Award. Education: Drama B.F.A., NYU/Tisch’s Experimental Theater Wing and Playwrights Horizons Theater School; Dance/Movement Therapy M.S. Pratt Institute student.
Mahnaz Damania (Ensemble) (she/her/hers) is ecstatic to make her Broadway debut! (Selected credits) Theatre: (U.S.A) Life Of Pi at ART. (India) Shikhandi - The Story of the Inbetweens (Nominated - Best Actor. Winner - Best Ensemble META 2018), 07/07/07 (Winner - Best Ensemble META 2016), Naqqaash, Sundays With Chitra and Chaitali, Three Women. TV: New Amsterdam, Inside Edge. Film: The Wandering Earth II, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Tu Hai Mera Sunday. This actor/writer has performed on some of the most illustrious stages in India and now continues her journey on one of the most prominent spaces for theatre in the world! She is so grateful to have a family that has always supported her dreams and aspirations, always believed in her talent and hard work.
Fred Davis (Richard Parker/Puppeteer) (he/him/his) A.R.T.: Debut. Theater: Life of Pi (Olivier Award, Best Supporting Actor), Wyndham’s Theatre; Ocean at the End of the Lane, National Theatre; Dido and Aeneas, Bodø Concert Hall, Norway; Life of Pi, The Sheffield Crucible Theatre; Peter Pan, Running Wild, Regents Park Open Air Theatre; The Hartlepool Monkey, Running Wild, UK Tour. Film/TV: “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared;” Jurassic World: Dominion; “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.” Training: Chichester Festival Youth Theatre.
Avery Glymph (Father Martin/Russian Sailor/Rear Admiral Jackson) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: The Skin of Our Teeth, The Tempest. Off-Broadway: Roundabout Theatre Company, New York Shakespeare Festival, and Lincoln Center Theatre, among others. Regional: Nine Night, Round House Theatre; and leading roles with Pittsburgh City Theater, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Syracuse Stage, Northern Stage, Actors Theatre of Louisville, St. Louis Rep, Cleveland Playhouse, The Old Globe (West Coast premiere of The Whipping Man; San Diego Critics Circle Award and NAACP Theatre Award nominations), PlayMakers Rep, Crossroads Theatre (Regional Tony season), and others. Film/TV: Out and About, “Search Party,” “She’s Gotta Have It,” He Got Game, “Madam Secretary,” “Law & Order” (original and C.I.), and many more. Education: BFA, The University of North Carolina School of the Arts; MFA, The Academy at STC and the George Washington University. Instagram: @averygoodactor.AveryGlymph.com
Jon Hoche (Ensemble) (he/him/his) Broadway: KING KONG: Alive on Broadway (Voice of King Kong/Puppeteer). Off-Broadway: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (Audrey 2 puppeteer), SOFT POWER (The Public Theater - Grammy Nominated), VIETGONE (Manhattan Theatre Club), SOUL SAMURAI, THE INEXPLICABLE REDEMPTION OF AGENT G (Ma-Yi Theater/Vampire Cowboys Theater), HELLO, FROM THE CHILDREN OF PLANET EARTH (Playwright’s Realm). National Tour: WARHORSE (Puppeteer/Puppet Captain). Regional: REVENGE SONG (Geffen Playhouse) TV: Hello Tomorrow! (Apple TV+) - @JonHoche
Mahira Kakkar (Nurse/Amma/Orange Juice) Off-Broadway: 7 Minutes, Waterwell; Here We Are, Theater for One; Addressless, Rattlestick; Opus, Primary Stages; Harper Regan, Atlantic; Romeo and Juliet, Public Theater; The Winter’s Tale, TFANA; When January Feels Like Summer, EST; Henry VI, NAATCO; Arturo Ui, Classic Stage Company; Ms. Witherspoon, Playwrights Horizons; Clive, The New Group. Regional: Life of Pi, A.R.T.; Skylight, McCarter Theatre; Rafta Rafta, Old Globe; Our Town, OSF; Monsoon Wedding, Berkeley Rep; Bedroom Farce, Huntington Theater Company; Inana, Denver Center; The Crucible, Cleveland Playhouse; Five Mile Lake, McCarter Theatre Center; Comedy of Errors, Hartford Stage, Jesus in India, Magic Theater. Film/TV: “A Suitable Boy” (series lead), “Manifest” (recurring), “New Amsterdam,” “Blue Bloods,” “The Blacklist,” “Louie,” “Odd Mom Out,” “Sweet Refuge,” “Bite Me,” Hank and Asha (Napa Valley Film Festival Best Actress, Wild Rose Festival Best Actress, Slamdance Audience winner, Bronze Lens winner), “Law & Order,” “Orange Is the New Black.” Training: Juilliard, SITI, Harold Guskin; B.A. Jadavpur University mahirakakkar.com
Kirstin Louie (Lulu Chen) (she/her/hers) A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: The Great Wave (Hana u/s), Berkeley Rep. TV: “Endeavour” (Christina). Education: MFA, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School; Jazz Vocal Studies, University of Southern California. Equity UK member.
Rowan Ian Seamus Magee (Richard Parker/Puppeteer) (he/him/his) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Angels in America (Tony Award for Best Revival), Neil Simon Theater. Off-Broadway: Hagoromo, 69ºS, Memory Rings, BAM Harvey. International tours: The Pigeoning; Chimpanzee; Demolishing Everything with Amazing Speed, 69ºS. Film: Clifford the Big Red Dog (reference/VFX puppeteer). Curator: Object Movement Puppetry Festival and Residency (2017-2022), Center at West Park. Education: BFA, Sarah Lawrence College.
Jonathan David Martin (Richard Parker/Puppeteer) (he/him/his) is a performer, director, producer, and educator working at the intersection of immersive technology and live performance. Stage credits include the original Broadway cast of War Horse, North American premiere of Life of Pi (ART), The Heiress and Junk at Arena Stage, Describe the Night at Woolly Mammoth, Silent Sky at Ford’s Theatre, Trouble in Mind at Two River Theater, The Chosen at Portland Center Stage, The Occupant at Theater J, and numerous productions with Washington Ensemble Theatre where he was a founding Co-Artistic Director. He is a pioneer in performance technique for VR, having starred in “Finding Pandora X” (Best Interactive Experience Venice International Film Festival VR, Audience Award at SXSW, XR Must's Best Interactive Experience). He also starred in the VR experiences “Severance Theory: Welcome To Respite” (Venice Film Fest, Kauhsiung Film Fest, Best Narrative Experience at Raindance Film Fest), "Gumball Dreams" (Audience Award at SXSW, Best Experience of 2022 - XR Must), and “Loveseat” (Venice Film Fest). He is the Producing Co-Artistic Director of Smoke & Mirrors Collaborative where he has directed the documentary web-series, "Tangible Hope Project" (Best Documentary Series-BNMWFest), and the original plays, Point of Departure and The Alien Nation. He produced and performed in the international tour and Off-Broadway hit Olityelwe (Ndebele Funeral), #HashtagProject, and created Head in the Sand. Jonathan is a 2021 Oculus Launch Pad member where he served as the Creative Producer and Narrative Designer for the forthcoming narrative VR experience, "City of Sand." University of Maryland faculty member at the Immersive Media Design program, leading research into the narrative and user experience design possibilities of AR/VR. Guest lecturer at the California State University Northridge and featured speaker at SXSW, AR/VR Policy Conference, (Re)Connect Festival, and universities around the country.
Usman Ali Mughal (Ensemble) (he/him/his) Broadway Debut! ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّٰه Regional: Life of Pi, ART; Come Fall in Love, The Old Globe; RENT, Signature Theatre; Legally Blonde, Mamma Mia!, Cortland Repertory Theater; The Rev Concert, The Rev; The Island of Dr. Moreau, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Synetic Theater. Readings: Come Fall in Love, We Are Ameena, In the Light. Film/TV: “WeCrashed,” Wonder Woman 1984, Kringle Time, Heather Has Four Moms. Education: BFA, Musical Theater ‘20 from Ithaca College. I’m nothing without my Ammi. Abbas & Ayaan made me the role model I dreamt of being. The generosity of Gregory, Ashton, & Marcus is what allowed me to grace this stage. سُـبْحانَ الله @usman.ali.mughal
Uma Paranjpe (Ensemble) (she/her/hers) A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: tango of a crumbling wall, Teatro LATEA. Regional: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Catskill Mountain Shakespeare; Twelfth Night, CMS; Radial Gradient, Kennedy Center; Ramaavan, Surati Performing Arts. Workshops: The Gap; The Game of Love. Film/TV: “Orange Is the New Black.” Education: BFA, Musical Theater, University of Miami.
Salma Qarnain (Mrs. Biology-Kumar/Zaida Khan) is a versatile Pakistani-American actor, thrilled to be making her Broadway debut in the adaptation of one of her favorite books. She is a two-time Helen Hayes Award recipient, an AUDELCO nominee, and an award-winning theater and film producer. She has performed across major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, HBO, HBO Max, Hulu, Showtime), regionally, Off-Broadway, and Off West End. Most recently, she produced the 2023 Oscar-qualified short film, Silent Partner (19 festivals / 4 Oscar qualifiers; 8 awards / nominations), and Speak Up Brotha! which is premiering at the Oscar-qualifying Cleveland International Film Festival. Selected credits: Bars and Measures (Off-Broadway); Acquittal (Off-Broadway); Rain + Zoe Save the World (Off West End); That Damn Michael Che (RECUR, HBO Max); FBI (CBS); The Blacklist (NBC); Law & Order SVU (NBC); For Life (ABC). Graduate of Stanford, MIT, Harvard Business School. Proud member of SAG•AFTRA, AEA, Equity. Thank you to Roderick, Gary, Lolita, Max, Finn, Duncan, Benton, Patrick, A.R.T, and Annette for getting me here. Love you, X! For my sisters Ayesha, Sonia, and Zehra and my parents Qarnain and Rashida in the stars. IG: @salma.qarnain; salmaqarnain.com
Betsy Rosen (Richard Parker/Puppeteer) (she/her/hers) A.R.T.: Debut. Australia: Laser Beak Man, Sydney Opera House. Regional: Argus, Lincoln Center; Long Christmas Ride Home, Astro Boy and the God of Comics, Studio Theatre; Pride and Prejudice, Round House; A Christmas Carol, Cincinnati Playhouse, Delaware Theatre Company; The Velvet Sky, Woolly Mammoth; The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (Aslan; Helen Hayes Award), Imagination Stage. TV: “The Smack-Dab in the Middle of the Day Show.” Education: Theater and Mathematics, University of Maryland, College Park.
Celia Mei Rubin (Richard Parker/Puppeteer) (she/her/hers) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: A Christmas Carol, Lyceum Theatre; Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (Chita Rivera Award for Best Ensemble), Imperial Theatre; Matilda the Musical, Shubert Theatre. West End: Parade, Donmar Warehouse; Candide, London Coliseum. Regional: Eureka Day, Asolo Repertory Theatre; A Chorus Line, TUTS Houston. Awards Shows Performances: Tony Awards; Olivier Awards.
David Shih (Ensemble) (he/him/his) Broadway debut. Off-Broadway: Will Eno’s Gnit (Theatre for a New Audience); KPOP (Ars Nova); the National Asian American Theatre Company productions of Henry VI: Shakespeare’s Tragedy in Two Parts, Awake and Sing! (The Public), and [veil widow conspiracy] (Next Door @ NYTW); Once Upon A (korean) Time and Bike America (Ma-Yi Theater); Somebody’s Daughter (Second Stage); Crane Story (The Playwrights Realm). Regional: Life of Pi (American Repertory Theater), Kim’s Convenience (Westport Country Playhouse), The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin (Indiana Rep), The Great Wave (Berkeley Rep), Tiger Style! (La Jolla Playhouse), The King and I (Maltz Jupiter Theatre). TV/Film: “Billions,” “Hunters,” “City on a Hill,” “Iron Fist,” “The Path,” “Blindspot,” “Elementary,” “Madam Secretary,” “The Blacklist,” “Unforgettable,” “Mozart in the Jungle,” “Blue Bloods,” “Are We There Yet?,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Eighth Grade, Respect the Jux, All the Little Things We Kill, Alberto and the Concrete Jungle, Fan Girl, Saving Face. Voice of Eddie Toh in the hit video game Grand Theft Auto V.
Sathya Sridharan (Mamaji/Pandt-Ji) (he/him/his) Broadway debut. Off-Broadway: Wives (Playwrights Horizons), An Ordinary Muslim (NYTW), India Pale Ale (MTC), Richard II (NYSF/WNYC), Winter’s Tale (Public Mobile Unit), Two Mile Hollow (WP), Ultimate Beauty Bible (Page73), Frontieres sans Frontieres (Bushwick Starr). Regional: Life of Pi (ART), Our Town (Portland Center Stage), Hapgood (Williamstown), The Philadelphia Story (Chautauqua). TV: “Little America”, “Succession”, “Kaleidoscope”, “Blindspot”, “Prodigal Son”, “Two Sentence Horror Stories”; Film: The Whale, Minor Premise, Bikini Moon, Black And White And Red All Over, Dastaar. Princess Grace Award Recipient (Grace Le Vine Award). MFA: NYU Grad Acting.
Daisuke Tsuji (Mr. Okamoto/Captain) (he/him/his) A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: Cambodian Rock Band (Duch), South Coast Rep, OSF, La Jolla Playhouse; Snow in Midsummer (Handsome), OSF; With Love and a Major Organ, Boston Court Pasadena; Imogen Says Nothing (William Shakespeare), Yale Rep; The Orphan of Zhao (The Orphan of Zhao), American Conservatory Theater, La Jolla Playhouse. International: Dralion (Public Clown), Cirque du Soleil. TV: “Invasion,” “Love, Death & Robots,” “Brockmire,” “The Man in the High Castle.” Video Games: Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Awards: LA Drama Critics Circle Award, San Diego Theater Critics Circle Award (The Craig Noel Award). Education: BA, UCLA.
Sonya Venugopal (Rani) (she/her/hers) is overjoyed to be making her Broadway debut with this incredible company! Regional: Life of Pi (A.R.T.), Come Fall in Love (The Old Globe), Atlantis (Virginia Rep), Annie (North Carolina Theatre). Education: MFA, Boston Conservatory; BA, Santa Clara University. Endless love to Kal, Mom, Dad, AK, and friends. Incredibly thankful to my DGRW fam, the entire creative team, and the Stewart/Whitley office. For Paati, Thatha, Grammy & Grandpa; this is OUR boat! @sonyeeahh
Scarlet Wilderink (Richard Parker/Puppeteer) (she/her/hers) A.R.T: Debut. West End: War Horse, New London Theatre; Life of Pi, Wyndham’s Theatre (Oliver Award for Best Supporting Actor); Pinocchio, National Theatre. Off-West End: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Southwark Playhouse; Putting It Together, The Other Palace. Regional: The Wicker Husband, Watermill Theatre; Treasure Island, Stephen Joseph Theatre; Watership Down, Watermill Theatre. UK Tour: The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Running Wild. International: Cabaret, MAC Theatre. Education: Guildford School of Acting.
Andrew Wilson (Richard Parker/Puppeteer) (he/him/his) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Cats. Tours: Newsies The Musical, Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan, Cats, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. NYC: Dave Malloy’s Love Around the Block, 2021 Met Gala. Opera: Turandot (Popolo Acrobat), Met Opera; Pagliacci (Troupe Gymnast), NYC Opera. Regional: Casa Mañana, Chase Brock Experience, Disneyland, La Mirada, MUNY, Pittsburgh CLO, Riverside, Sacramento Music Circus, TUTS. Film: Newsies: The Broadway Musical. Thank you to the entire team of Life of Pi and A.R.T. for this opportunity. Instagram: @andrewwilsonny
CREATIVE TEAM BIOGRAPHIES
Lolita Chakrabarti (Playwright) OBE is an actress and an award-winning playwright. Her debut play Red Velvet opened at the Tricycle Theatre, London, before transferring to St Ann’s Warehouse in New York and then to London’s West End as part of Sir Kenneth Branagh’s inaugural season at The Garrick Theatre. It earned her the Evening Standard Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright 2012; The Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright 2013; AWA for Arts and Culture 2013 and an Olivier Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre 2012, as well as many other nominations. Red Velvet is now on the Drama syllabus for A level, is studied at universities in the UK and USA and there have been over twenty professional productions in the USA and beyond, including at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington in June 2022. In 2019 Lolita adapted the Booker Prize winning novel Life of Pi for the stage, (Sheffield Theatres and Wyndham’s Theatre in London’s West End) for which she won the award for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards 2022, UK Theatre Awards 2019, and WhatsonStage Awards 2019. Other writing credits include Hymn (Almeida Theatre/Sky Arts); an adaptation of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities (Manchester International Festival and Brisbane Festival); Stones of Venice, a VR film for New Vision Arts Festival in Hong Kong; she curated The Greatest Wealth (The Old Vic) celebrating 8 decades of the NHS, which was also shown online during the pandemic; she was dramaturg on Message in a Bottle (ZooNation/Sadler’s Wells). Lolita is dramaturg on the forthcoming Sylvia for the Old Vic. Acting credits include: Fanny and Alexander (The Old Vic); Hamlet (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), “Vigil,” “Showtrial,” “The Casual Vacancy” (BBC); “Wheel of Time” (Amazon Prime); “Born to Kill” (Channel 4); “My Mad Fat Diary” (E4), “Beowulf; Return to the Shieldlands” (ITV); “Riviera” (Sky); “Criminal” (Netflix).
MAX WEBSTER (Director) is an Associate Director at The Donmar Warehouse. As Director, credits include: Henry V (Donmar Warehouse); Antigone, As You Like It and Twelfth Night (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (Old Vic Theatre/San Diego Old Globe/Minneapolis Children’s Theatre); The Jungle Book (Fiery Angel); Fanny and Alexander, Cover My Tracks (Old Vic Theatre); The Twits (Curve Theatre Leicester); The Winter’s Tale (The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh); The Sea of Fertility and Mary Stuart (Parco Productions Tokyo); Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe); Shostakovich’s Hamlet (City of London Sinfonia); Orlando, To Kill a Mockingbird, My Young and Foolish Heart (Royal Exchange Manchester); James and the Giant Peach, My Generation (Leeds Playhouse); Carnival Under the Rainbow and Feast Kakulu (Hilton Festival, South Africa) & Caucasian Chalk Circle (Aarohan Theatre, Kathmandu). Opera credits include: La Bohème (Göteborgsoperan, Sweden) & The Merry Widow (English National Opera).
TIM HATLEY (Scenic & Costume Design). Double nominations at the 2022 Olivier Awards - Best Set Design for Back to the Future and Life of Pi (Winner). Tim has designed extensively for The National Theatre, West End and Broadway, and is the winner of 2 Tony Awards, 3 Olivier Awards, & 4 Drama Desk Awards, including the 2022 Olivier Award for Best Set Design for Life of Pi. Theatre credits include: Back to the Future (West End); Dreamgirls (West End & UK Tour);Travesties (West End/ Broadway); Ghosts (Almeida Theatre/West End/Brooklyn Academy of Music);Little Eyolf (Almeida Theatre); Temple (Donmar Warehouse); Enemy of the People, Pajama Game (Chichester Festival Theatre); Mr. Foote’s Other Leg (Hampstead Theatre/West End), The Bodyguard (West End/International Tours); Shrek (West End/ Broadway/UK Tour/US Tour); Spamalot (West End/ Broadway/ US Tour/Las Vegas); Private Lives (West End/ Broadway), The Crucible (Broadway), Singin’ in the Rain, My Fair Lady (Chatelet Paris) and Carmen & Don Quixote (The Royal Ballet). Film credits include Production Design for: Closer, Notes on a Scandal and Stage Beauty.
FINN CALDWELL (Co-Puppet Design, Puppetry and Movement Direction) is a director, designer, and performer; he is co-artistic director of Gyre & Gimble, a theater company specializing in puppetry, where his Co-Director/Puppet Designer credits include The Four Seasons: A Reimagining (Shakespeare’s Globe, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse); The Hartlepool Monkey (UK Tour), and The Elephantom (National Theatre/West End). As Puppet Co-Designer/Director, credits include The Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic/West End) and Running Wild (Chichester Festival Theatre/Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre/UK Tour). As Director of Puppetry and Movement, credits include The Ocean at the end of the Lane (National Theatre/West End), Angels in America (National Theatre/Broadway); The Light Princess (National Theatre); and War Horse (National Theatre/West End/International Tour).
Nick Barnes (Co-Puppet Design) began making puppets whilst studying drama at Hull University and theatre design at the Slade School of Fine Art and soon after began incorporating puppets into his theatre designs for opera and theatre. He subsequently formed the puppetry company Blind Summit Theatre, devising and performing in shows which toured internationally from the Edinburgh Fringe to the Metropolitan Opera, whilst designing and building puppets for companies such as the ENO, Complicite and the Royal Opera House. In 2012 he co-directed the puppetry in Danny Boyle’s spectacular opening ceremony for the London Olympic Games.
Nick now runs a puppet design studio in Hove (UK), where he designs and makes puppets for theatre and live performance. As Puppetry Designer for Blind Summit, theatre credits include: Low Life, The Table, 1984. Madame Butterfly (English National Opera/Metropolitan Opera); A Dog’s Heart (ENO/Dutch National Opera); Shunkin and Master and Margarita (Complicite); El Gato Con Botas (Tectonic Theatre); On Emotion (Soho Theatre); Faeries (Royal Opera House) and His Dark Materials (Birmingham Repertory Theatre/ Leeds Playhouse). As Nick Barnes Puppets, credits include: Doctor Dolittle (Music & Lyrics Productions); The Lorax (Old Vic Theatre and US Tour); Ariodante (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence/Dutch National Opera); Angels wings, Angels in America (National Theatre/Broadway); Running Wild (Associate Designer/Chichester Festival Theatre/Regents Park); Mr Popper’s Penguin’s (Kenny Wax Ltd/West End/Broadway); Beauty and the Beast and The Butterfly Lion (Chichester Festival Theatre); Al Adiyat (Dubai Expo 21, AIM). Nick has also designed large scale Firebird and Gnomus puppets for the BBC Proms concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and created the Ironman costume for Disneyland Paris’ Summer of Superheroes show. You can follow Nicks work at www.nickbarnespuppets.co.uk
ANDRZEJ GOULDING (Video Design). Video Designer and Animator Andrzej studied Theatre Design at Central Saint Martins in London. Theatre includes: Eureka Day (Old Vic); The Time Traveller’s Wife (Chester Storyhouse); The Unfriend (West End); Burn (Joyce Theatre, NTS); Henry V (Donmar Warehouse, NT Live); Life of Pi (West End, Boston); The Da Vinci Code (UK tour); & Juliet (West End, Toronto, Broadway); The Drifters Girl (West End); People, Places and Things (National Theatre/West End/St Ann's Warehouse); Groundhog Day (Old Vic/Broadway); Room (Stratford East/Princess Of Wales Theatre); The Unfriend, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, 8 Hotels, Pressure (Chichester Festival Theatre); Coriolanus (Donmar Warehouse, NT Live); Message in a Bottle (Sadler’s Wells); The Unreturning – also set design (Frantic Assembly); The Girl on the Train (UK tour); 1984 (Sadler’s Wells); Constellations – also set design (NCPA Theatre); The Machine (The Armoury); Kiki’s Delivery Service (Southwark Playhouse). Awards and Nominations include: Olivier Award winner for Best Lighting Design 2022, UK Theatre Award winner for Design 2019, Broadway World Award winner for Best Video Design 2019, Knights of Illumination Nomination for Video Design 2019 (Life Of Pi); WhatsOnStage Award winner for Best Video Design 2020 (&Juliet); Off West End Award 2019 nomination for Video Design and Broadway World Award 2019 nomination for Set Design (The Unreturning); Drama Desk Award nomination 2018 for Outstanding Projection Design and Knights of Illumination USA Award nomination for Projection Design 2018 (People, Places and Things); in 2017 he won the inaugural Theatre and Technology Award for Creative Innovation in Video Design (Room) and was nominated for a WhatsOnStage Award for Video Design (Groundhog Day). www.agoulding.com
TIM LUTKIN (Lighting Design) trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Credits include: Jack Absolute Flies Again, Under Milk Wood, Back To The Future (Olivier nomination and Whatsonstage Award), Fiddler On The Roof, Chimerica, Elf, Quiz, Impossible, The Girls, The Go-Between, Close To You - Bacharach Reimagined, Strangers On A Train, The Full Monty, Ralph Finnes - Four Quartets (West End); Timon of Athens, The Rover, Candide, All’s Well That Ends Well (Royal Shakespeare Company); The Crucible, Anthony & Cleopatra, Salome, Le Bancs (Olivier Theatre/National Theatre); Mickey and the Magician, Marvel Superheros United, The Art Of Animation, Disney Junior Dream Factory (Walt Disney Imagineering); Twelfth Night (Young Vic); Lungs, The Crucible, Present Laughter (Old Vic); Philadelphia Here I Come!, Knives In Hens (Donmar Warehouse); David Blaine Real Or Magic (National Tour); Destiny Spectacular (MGM Theatre Macau); Dynamo Live: Seeing Is Believing (Hammersmith Apollo/World Arena Tour); Single Spies, The Winslow Boy (Chichester Festival Theatre/National Tours); Dynamo: The Power of X (Copper Box Arena). Tim Lutkin has received two Olivier Awards for Best Lighting Design for Chimerica and Life of Pi.
Carolyn Downing (Sound Design) is an award-winning sound designer working in theatre and across a variety of media, both nationally and internationally. Her work in theatre and live events includes Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022 Opening Ceremony, Henry V, BLANK, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (also on Broadway), Fathers and Sons, Dimetos and Absurdia (Donmar); Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World (Kenny Wax); Normal Heart, The Welkin, Downstate (also at Steppenwolf Chicago and Playwrights Horizons NYC), Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear – the Musical!, As You Like It, Our Country’s Good, The Motherf*cker with the Hat, Dara (NT); All My Sons (Old Vic); Death Of A Salesman (Young Vic and West End); Summer & Smoke (Almeida and West End, Olivier Nomination 2019), Chimerica (Almeida and West End, Olivier Award Best Sound Design 2014), Carmen Disruption and Blood Wedding (Almeida); Gypsy, Mother Courage, The Producers (Royal Exchange); The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and King John (RSC); Handbagged, White Teeth (Kiln); Me And My Girl, Copenhagen and Fiddler on the Roof (Chichester); A Woman of No Importance (Vaudeville & UK Tour); The Believers, Beautiful Burnout and Love Song (Frantic Assembly); Hope, The Pass, The Low Road and Choir Boy (Royal Court); All My Sons (Broadway). Designs for opera include Benjamin, Dernière Nuit at Opéra de Lyon, How the Whale Became at the Royal Opera House, American Lulu for Opera Group and After Dido for the ENO. Exhibitions include Jean Michael Basquiat: King Of Pleasure presented by his family in NYC, Reimagining Wordsworth for the Wordsworth Trust; Hut 11A: The Bombe Breakthrough at Bletchley Park; So You Say You Want A Revolution? Records & Rebels 1965– 70 at the V&A; Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones at Saatchi Gallery; Collider at the Science Museum; and Louis Vuitton: Series 3. Carolyn has also created soundscapes for Shawn Mendes’ Illuminate tour 2017 and Louis Vuitton Ready to Wear Collection shows at the Louis Vuitton Foundation and The Louvre, Paris.
Andrew T. Mackay (Original Music) is an Olivier Award nominated and award-winning classically trained composer & producer and the co-founder with Garry Hughes of the electronica/world music act Bombay Dub Orchestra. Andrew studied piano, clarinet, and composition at the London College of Music under Dr Lloyd Webber and John McCabe. His music often fuses orchestral with folk and traditional elements of music from the project’s region and has scored many films in India including the National award-winning Hamid by Aijaz Khan. Andrew’s company Bohemia Junction Ltd exclusively represents Abbey Road Studios for India as well as the FAMES’ Skopje Studio Orchestra and has provided music services on dozens of films, concerts, and Games over the last decade. He is the Director of India’s first ever Composers Lab which started in 2013 as part of Mumbai Film Festival in association with Abbey Road, PRS for Music UK and supported by BMI. The Oliver Award Nominated music soundtrack to Life of Pi was Andrew’s first foray into scoring for theatre which was followed by Henry V with Kit Harington (Donmar) in 2022 and Butter Arms a short film for Royal Ballet/ Royal Opera House. The soundtrack album to Life of Pi is available on all streaming platforms as well as on CD on the Bohemia Junction Recording Co. label. www.mackay.at
Jack Bradley (Dramaturgy) is a Literary producer, dramaturg, playwright, and translator. Previously Bradley was Literary Associate at SFP, and Literary Manager at London’s National Theatre from 1994-2006 advising on the repertoire for Richard Eyre, Trevor Nunn and Nicholas Hytner. From 1989-1994 he worked in new play development at the Soho Theatre.
YANN MARTEL (Novelist) is a Canadian writer. He is the author of a collection of short stories and four novels, most notably Life of Pi, for which he won the 2002 Man Booker Prize. Additional writing credits include The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, Self, Beatrice and Virgil, The High Mountains of Portugal and the non-fiction collection 101 Letters to a Prime Minister: The Completed Letters to Stephen Harper. Martel is presently at work on Son of Nobody, a novel about the Trojan War.