Robert Tanitch reviews The Polar Bears at Bush Theatre, London W12
The full title of this play is prefaced with a vulgar swear word which is totally unacceptable to this website. Ironically, the play is not vulgar at all.
You might presume, as I did, that with the full vulgar title on all posters, and in huge letters outside the theatre, and on the cover of the published script, that Tonya Ronder’s play was going to be a satirical comedy about climate change and the disasters which will follow if we do nothing about it.
But comedy and satire are in short supply.
The leading character, a communications director of a large energy company, earning a lot of money, has a spectacular breakdown from a bad conscience. His wife and the au pair for their young daughter are as unappealing as he is. The only likeable character is his younger brother played by Jon Foster.
But my main gripe is that is not until the last ten minutes or so that Ronder really gets down to what the play is about. Are you a climate denier and if you are not, what are you doing about it? How do you organise multilateral, world-wide self-denial?
Do you put unnecessary lights out? Are you spending too long in the showers? Are you using an electric blanket? Are you sorting out your rubbish for recycle? Are you making unnecessary journeys and using too much petrol?
Are you scared for your children’s future? The parents in this play think if climate disaster is going to happen in their daughter’s lifetime, then the sooner she has some lessons at the local rifle range the better.
Tonya Ronder’s play fails to do for Climate Change what Tamsin Oglesby’s Future Conditional at The Old Vic so successfully does for Education – make a political debate theatrically entertaining.
