Adventure
On Stage
April 16 – June 19, 2027
San Francisco Playhouse
Tickets: $60 – $145
Tickets not yet available
The best seats are reserved for subscribers
Final performance: June 19, 2027
Call 415.677.9596 to buy tickets by phone.
San Francisco Playhouse • 450 Post Street • Union Square
Life of Pi
Based on the novel by Yann Martel
Adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti
Sixteen-year-old Pi Patel sets out on a journey across the ocean with his family, only to find himself alone after a catastrophic shipwreck. Adrift on a lifeboat in the vast Pacific, he must learn to survive alongside a group of unlikely companions, including a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger. As the days stretch into weeks, reality and imagination begin to blur. Pi is pushed to his limits, confronting fear, faith, and the stories we tell ourselves to endure the unimaginable. Winner of five Olivier Awards including Best New Play, and hailed by The Guardian as “extraordinary and unmissable,” this breathtaking stage adaptation brings Yann Martel’s beloved novel to life through stunning visuals and groundbreaking puppetry. Life of Pi is a theatrical event about survival, belief, and the power of storytelling.
Winner of Three Tony Awards
“A breathtaking celebration of human ingenuity and animal grace.” The New York Times
“An exhilarating evening of theater!” The Wall Street Journal
Play Details
Created byAdapted by Lolita Chakrabarti
Venue
Est. Run Time
Performance dates
AccessibilityPERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
| Day of week | Matinee | Evening |
| Monday | - | - |
| Tuesday | - | 7:00 pm |
| Wednesday | 2:00 pm | 7:00 pm |
| Thursday | - | 7:00 pm |
| Friday | - | 8:00 pm |
| Saturday | 2:00 pm | 8:00 pm |
| Sunday | 2:00 pm | - |
Note: View the official calendar for full schedule including special performances.
ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES
For blind and visually impaired audience members, San Francisco Playhouse partners with Gravity Access Services to offer live audio description and haptic access tours for selected performances.
About the Creators
Yann Martel 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. Writing credits include: The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, Self, Life of Pi, Beatrice and Virgil, The High Mountains of Portugal and the non-fiction collection 101 Letters to a Prime Minister: The Complete Letters to Stephen Harper. Martel is presently at work on Son of Nobody, a novel about the Trojan War. He lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with the writer Alice Kuipers and their four children.
Lolita Chakrabarti 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.
What are the showtimes?
The show is on stage six days a week; Tuesday through Sunday. Showtimes are as follows:
Tuesdays at 7:00 P.M.
Wednesdays at 2:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M.
Thursdays at 7:00 P.M.
Fridays at 8:00 P.M.
Saturdays at 2:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M.
Sundays at 2:00 P.M.
Showtimes may vary. Always consult the official show calendar or call 415.677.9596 for updated dates and times.
How much are tickets?
Tickets range from $60 to $145, although prices may fluctuate depending on date, showtime, and demand. Discounts are available to season subscribers.
When did Life of Pi premiere?
Life of Pi premiered on June 28, 2019 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It later went to Broadway in 2023 and won three Tony Awards for Best Scenic Design of a Play, Best Lighting Design of a Play, and Best Sound Design of a Play. Life of Pi also boasts a movie adaptation released in 2012 which received 11 Academy Award nominations and 4 wins.
What is the seating chart for this show?
San Francisco Playhouse's auditorium is on two levels: Orchestra and Mezzanine/Balcony. Our intimate 199-seat theatre has only nine rows in the Orchestra, meaning every single seat is close to the stage.
Where is San Francisco Playhouse?
San Francisco Playhouse is located at 450 Post St., San Francisco CA 94102. The theatre is located on the second floor of the Kensington Park Hotel. Patrons may access the venue using the elevators or stairs in the hotel lobby.
Is San Francisco Playhouse ADA accessible?
San Francisco Playhouse is ADA accessible. The theatre is located on the second floor and can be accessed by two elevators from the lobby level. Wheelchair and companion seating are located on the theatre's mezzanine level.
Is there parking on site?
We do not offer onsite parking, and the hotel's valet is only available to guests of the Kensington Park Hotel. To reserve a parking spot with SpotHero, visit the San Francisco Playhouse SpotHero Parking Page. Limited street parking is also available.
We recommend taking BART or Muni to San Francisco Playhouse. We are four blocks from the Powell Street BART/Muni station — just a seven-minute walk.
San Francisco Playhouse
450 Post St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 677-9596
(c) 2024 San Francisco Playhouse
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Tax ID: 86-1089699
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