Theatre
The Polar Bears Go Up
Platform, Glasgow
Mary Brennan
four stars
LAST time we encountered this gung-ho pair of polar bears, they were going wild – wild as in exploring icy wastes, not as in going on the rampage. Our bears – Eilidh MacAskill and Fiona Manson – are much too affable to maul anything beyond a toasted sandwich. They might well have stayed home, having daft tussles over who was in charge of the biscuits, if the Big Golden Balloon hadn’t popped out of a box and into their lives... albeit briefly. Its skywards escape from an unwary paw meant only one thing: our bears had to get into intrepid mode again, and go UP!
Even if they hadn’t pursued the errant star-shaped balloon – eventually building a rocket to get them high enough – the Polar Bears would still prove an entertaining double-act for young audiences (ideally age 2 - 5). There’s no spoken text, but the well-paced mix of episodes that establish the relationship between the small, happy-go-lucky one (Manson) and the taller, somewhat bossy-boots Big Bear (MacAskill) are crammed with merry visual gags – think Eric and Ernie in furry costumes, dabbling in one-up-man-ship gambits, or finding mirth in misunderstandings. What this Fish & Game/Unicorn London production – fine-tuned by director Lee Lyford – does brilliantly is channel sophisticated thinking into simple, tot-pleasing antics. Visually, it’s a stream of imaginative surprises. Wee doors open in towers of boxes, props emerge, including two teeny white bears who scale the mighty heights – by cable car, plane and rocket (on an emblematic wall chart) – while MacAskill and Manson breezily create the fabric, and vehicles, of a high-spirited journey into space. Never mind Tim Peake – these bears playfully defy gravity on-stage.
On tour to Falkirk Town Hall Studio today, Cumbernauld Theatre tomorrow, Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy Sunday and Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh June 2-4
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here