Arts:Blog

Theatre Review: Tracks of the Winter Bear ***

Michael Cox reviews a production that makes for 'a stilted evening'.

Over the last few years, the Traverse have offered theatre audiences a tonic to all the sweet-natured productions meant to embrace families. Tracks of the Winter Bear carries on the tradition, giving audiences two separate stories bound by snow, blood, adult themes and death. No Merry Christmas here.

It is a bit of a relief, really. However, it isn't the triumph it could have been.

Superior in every way is act one. Written by Stephen Greenhorn and directed by Zinnie Harris, the play looks at a romance between two women who find each other again in adulthood after being schoolgirls together. Taking a page from Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, the play works its way backwards, bookending itself in a snowstorm.

Greenhorn’s play is delicate but lovely. It is a humane look at love and loss, and every moment rings true. Harris’ direction is subtle: it's well-paced but allows each scene moments to breathe. It is, however, the performances that make the play soar. Deborah Arnott and Karen Bartke are excellent as Shula and Avril, bringing a sweet believability both individually and in their relationship. These are characters that are easy to care for, and it would be a pleasure to spend even more time with them than we are given.

It's a shame, then, that act two not only follows different characters but isn't as successful. A polar bear (confidently played by Caroline Deyga) has escaped from a Christmas fun park and is on a murderous rampage. It discovers Jackie (Kathryn Howden) and, rather than devouring her, decides to bond with her. The Bear, you see, has just eaten Jackie’s husband, and it appears that his essence is within the Bear, allowing human and animal to communicate on a basic level.

It's not that Rona Munro’s script is bad—it isn't. It just feels like a gag that goes on for much too long, even if it is well directed, performed and has fun dialogue. What it lacks, for lack of a better phrase, is a humane beating heart. This probably wouldn't be much of a problem had it been presented on its own. Sadly, as a companion piece to Greenhorn’s play, it makes for a stilted evening that doesn't feel nearly as rewarding as it should.

Tracks of the Winter Bear performs at the Traverse until December 24, 2015.