Review: CAN BEARS SKI?, The Arts Depot

Deafinitely Theatre and The Pied Piper Theatre Company have excitingly collaborated on the staging of Can Bears Ski? by award-winning poet Raymond Antrobus, in a new adaptation for the stage by Tina Williams.

Can Bears Ski? explores the experiences of both hearing and Deaf characters and promotes familiarising relevant language such as ‘hearing’, ‘Deaf’, ‘British Sign Language’, ‘fingerspelling’, ‘lipreading’, ‘hearing aid’ – as well as modelling appropriate language and promoting positive representation, as advocated by the Deaf community.

The character of Little Bear expertly played by Emery Hunter captures the nuances of the content, with Little Bear working hard to decipher prominent questions. Hunter portrays the very real disorientation and the tactics required to navigate the Deaf experience. Little Bear encounters wonder in the form of sensory connection to snowfall and personal connection to the daily routine of school and bedtime stories.

Tina Williams and Paula Garfield insightfully direct Can Bears Ski? They cast importance on a big question for Little Bear, which comes in multiple forms across the piece, embracing themes of deafness, neurodiversity and overcoming barriers.

The intensity of the effect of the daily surroundings for Little Bear resonates with the audience. The descriptive elements of the storybook come to life as the ‘radiator shakes, bed rumbles, windows tremble, ceiling cracks.’ In a standout moment, Stefan Stuart playing Dad Bear’s voice is ‘felt’, not heard, which permeates our understanding and lingers with the audience.

The costume is vibrant and visually pleasing alongside the beautiful sloping and pointy pastel set by Catherine Chapman, which is inspired by Polly Dunbar's illustrations, creating a multifunctional set which forms a home, a school, a hospital, trees and ski slopes. The ensemble Nick Ash (Teacher Bear, Ensemble), Zoe McWhinney (Speech and Language Therapist, Ensemble), and Jessica Warshaw (Audiologist and Ensemble) have been cast perfectly, as they do a fantastic job of keeping up the energy and wonder of the piece. Notably Movement Direction by Angela Gasparetto creates a flowing car journey, where the ensemble become one with the outdoor pointy trees.

Nick Ash’s impressive puppets of Little Bear, David Bear and the ensemble’s bear puppets are beautiful and expressive, with delicate lifelike movement. Little Bears experience of life and their feelings are understood prominently, by observing the sensations of their surroundings as they ‘shake, wobble and stamp’.

Can Bears Ski? is a wonderful piece of children’s theatre; poignant, uplifting and educational. My 2.5-year-old watched enraptured for the full 50 minutes and my 8-year-old wanted to show us the British Sign Language she had learned.

Can Bears Ski? is touring until Sunday 25 February 2024 across the UK

Photo Credits: Fergus Ford and James Creasy at Fergus Ford Photography

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