A child’s story, rendered in shades of black, white, and the red of young girl Mika’s (Janice Ho) coat, took place at Riley Theatre in Chapeltown on Valentine’s Day…..
…..something that both I and the children who had gathered to watch couldn’t keep our eyes away from.
‘Mika and the Polar Bear’ is a dance performance by Coalesce Dance Theatre detailing, amongst many other things, a child being swept away from her home by a freak weather event. She struggles to find her way in a strange new world, and is shown mercy by a friendly polar bear, who keeps her company through her journey back home. It is a wild flight of fancy, a story of friendship and care, a tale inspired by underlying ecological anxiety, and a depiction of love.
‘Mika and the Polar Bear’ is a show that understands childlike imagination in its inaccuracies and inventions. In this world, a girl can escape an icy wasteland in a paper boat. Mika can befriend a polar bear, because wild animals are friendly and can be bribed by corner shop sweets in a paper bag. She can survive harsh winds and hike mountains with the power of hope. Scribbled on paper, acts of magic become reality! This suspension of disbelief struck a chord with the four-to-eleven-year-olds that it is aimed at, and also lent the stylistic choices of the production more credibility. Of course the foxes and polar bears are puppets! Of course the icebergs can be shifted and moved! Of course the paper boat becomes full sized and brings Mika back to her loving family!
Speaking of the puppets, there’s something very heartwarming about alive props being made with the utmost care – in this case by Bek Palmer. In the minimalistic backdrop of the Riley Theatre’s stage, the wiring, scraps of fabric and glassy eyes became something real and tangible. I could hear a child saying quietly ‘Bear! Bear! Bear!’ At the end of the performance, many children stayed to take pictures with the polar bear and other members of their families, smiling brightly for the camera. There was a sense of wonderment about it- as if this were a real polar bear that helped save Mika from a snowstorm.
One thing that I liked about ‘Mika and the Polar Bear’ was that it never spoke down or patronised in its portrayal of the events on stage. I’ve always had a fondness for children’s media that understood that children are more intelligent than society gives them credit for, and often know what’s going on. The backdrop showed Mika’s storytelling, and her ideas about being a very small girl in a very big world. In the stage’s drawn exaggeration- Janice Ho and Luke Speddings represented the sting of the cold, the waves of the sea- emotionally brighter and colder in the way that the world is often seen through a child’s lens.
The Riley Theatre is a very comfortable space, with ample leg room and spacious seats. Connected with the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, this is Yorkshire’s largest dedicated dance house and the site of many avant-garde and touring productions.
‘Mika and the Polar Bear’ attracted quite a lively crowd. I give special thanks to all of the staff who made this experience that much more comfortable for me.
Images by Elly Wel Photography.
