The Polar Bears Go Up
The Unicorn Theatre at London Bridge is the only theatre in London just for children. Adults can accompany them, obviously, but every single show is put on just for kids. They have a programme for all age groups - in my former life as a drama teacher I brought pupils from Year 5 to sixth form here. It's so magical that I've even come to see shows on my own or with friends, without any kids in tow - sometimes it's really nice to see children's theatre, and they always have a good mix of everything from puppetry to panto.
Pretty much as soon as my niece was born I've wanted to take her to the theatre. Not just so I can watch kids' shows with a legitimate reason, but because I love theatre so much, and hope she does too. Her first trip to The Unicorn nearly happened when she was ten months old, to an exciting looking baby show, but she was ill. So, Baby A's (or toddler A's) first ever time at the theatre happened a couple of weeks ago as a two year old, to see The Polar Bears Go Up.
Being a children's theatre, The Unicorn makes everything easy for you to bring young kids here. The huge foyer has plenty of space for buggies, a soft play area for kids to go mad and let off steam before a show, and a spacious cafe area where healthy snacks like these cookies (above) are served with colourful seeds instead of Smarties. On arrival my sister parked the pushchair whilst I collected the tickets with Baby A. She spied some crayons on the box office desk and batted her eyelashes at the lady, minutes later she's happily scribbling on programmes.
The Polar Bears Go Up is the second Polar Bears show from theatre company Fish and Game. It's a fifty-minute mimed piece about two cohabiting bears who receive a mysterious delivery of a gold star (a helium balloon). After some Morcambe and Wise style synchronised breakfast making, and attempts to keep the star from floating away, it of course does just that. The rest of the story sees them trying all manner of ways to get up into the sky to get their star back, and it's just utterly inventive, charming, and so energetic that when it ended I thought 'huh? Has it been fifty minutes already?'. My niece finds it hard to sit through two episodes of Bing Bunny back to back, so I was worried she'd get bored with a story of this length, especially one with no talking or animated bunnies.
Baby A was a bit apprehensive at first at the semi-dark room, but also transfixed by the stage lights, shouting 'LOOK!' during the show when they changed colour, making a parent behind us giggle. She also liked the colourful set (above) and was intrigued by all the doors that open, and what might be behind them. Baby A never got bored, though she did get fidgety and slid off her chair to sit on the floor at one point (we were on the front row, so she kept her eyes on the action). Lunch must have been on her mind as she also bellowed the words pizza and ice-cream completely out of context mid-play too. She really liked the play, was transfixed with the polar bears and their animated facial expressions, and even recalled some of the story the next day - pretending to go in her own rocket to the sky. I'm glad Baby A wasn't the only heckler; hands down my favourite moment was when the bears used a small aeroplane made of paper to symbolise their journey. "It's just a piece of paper!" shouted an indignant young audience member, and without hesitation one of the polar bears shrugged and pulled a 'yep' facial expression. Hilarious.
Keep your eye open for possible returns of the polar bears at The Unicorn and other theatres - their latest journey is a treat; beautiful effects and physical theatre made to look deceptively simple, and performed with skill to keep even fidgets and hecklers entranced. Make sure you take a look at The Unicorn's programme for the summer and Christmas, tickets are starting to sell out already. I can't wait to go back, with or without Baby A, though I will remember her first theatre outing forever.
Our trip to see The Polar Bears Go Up was very kindly gifted to us by The Unicorn Theatre.