The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre has opened their 2025-26 season with the play Life of Pi. 

Life of Pi was adapted from the award-winning novel of the same name by Yann Martel, which was also turned into an Academy Award-winning film in 2012. The story follows Pi Patel, who, after losing everything in a disastrous shipwreck, spends 227 days on a lifeboat accompanied by a Bengal tiger. Pi is left to try and keep himself together while stranded at sea, all while hoping he does not become the tiger’s next meal. 

Winnipeg-based artist and U of M alum Anaka Maharaj-Sandhu is one of the actors in the production. They were inspired to take up acting to follow in the footsteps of their older sister. 

“[My sister] did stand-up comedy and she did plays here and there, and I just copied everything she did,” they reflected. “So, I immediately wanted to try acting, and then once I got into high school […] I realized that it was something I really enjoyed doing, and that’s when I started considering it as a career.”

Maharaj-Sandhu honed their craft by attending the National Theatre School of Canada, which they said was a great experience, noting that it was great for self-motivated performers such as themself. 

“It was three years of fully focusing on my craft, which was […] a push that a lot of people need [in order] to take them from good to great,” they stated. 

After graduating from NTS in 2022, Maharaj-Sandhu completed a bachelor of arts in political science at the U of M this fall. They had originally started their degree before attending NTS and resumed their studies afterwards, fitting classes and studying in between acting jobs. They expressed encouragement toward other aspiring actors to prioritize their education and seek any opportunities to better themselves and hone their craft. 

In Life of Pi, Maharaj-Sandhu plays Rani, Pi’s older sister who is a soon-to-be University of Toronto student, as well as a ghost version of Rani that appears later in the play. They also appear in the ensemble and are the understudy for the title role. 

“[Rani] takes every opportunity to tease [Pi],” Maharaj-Sandhu said, with a laugh. “She’s very smart […] She’s very, very, very different from who I am as a person.”

To prepare for their role, Maharaj-Sandhu took a research-based approach, looking into their character’s background and hometown in Pondicherry (now Puducherry), India, and figuring out what Rani’s day-to-day would look like — including the music she would like and the books she would read. 

“I was reading a lot of [economic] books to be like, ‘Hey, what the hell is math? I didn’t study math. What is this about? […] Why does she like this so much?’” they explained. 

With a small cast and crew and many moving parts — most notably, an abundance of puppets — the experience had been somewhat unpredictable. However, this is something that Maharaj-Sandhu has enjoyed. One story stands out, of a puppet breaking during the intermission. 

“We were back from intermission and then all of a sudden, I’m like, ‘This is a really long intermission, what the hell is going on?’ One of our puppets had broken, so they were taking the time to fix it,” they recalled. 

Indeed, maintaining the puppets has been hard work, but worth it. The audience loved them, frequently asking questions about them during the post-show Q&As. 

“I think that one of the parts of the show that could very easily fall flat […] are the puppets, if you have people who aren’t experienced [in puppetry] or puppets that don’t move as they should,” Maharaj-Sandhu remarked. “But people really love the puppets.”

When it comes to the show’s message, Maharaj-Sandhu stated, “I think this is just such a beautiful example of what [it’s like] to undergo something extraordinary and tragic, and come out the other side still wanting to teach other people and share and come from a place of love and […] positivity.” 

The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s production of Life of Pi runs until Nov. 8 at the John Hirsch Mainstage. For tickets and information on upcoming productions, visit royalmtc.ca. For more information on Anaka Maharaj-Sandhu, visit their website anakasandhu.com or follow them on Instagram @anakasandhu.