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Bear with me: Sun Bear @ParkTheatre

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If The Light House is an uplifting tale of survival, Sarah Richardson’s Sun Bear gives a contrasting take on this. Sarah plays Katy. We’re introduced to Katy as she runs through a list of pet office peeves with her endlessly perky coworkers, particularly about coworkers stealing her pens. It’s a hilarious opening monologue that would have you wishing you had her as a coworker to help relieve you from the boredom of petty office politics.  But something is not quite right in the perfect petty office, where people work together well. And that is her. And despite her protesting that she is fine, the pet peeves and the outbursts are becoming more frequent. As the piece progresses, maybe the problem lies in a past relationship, where Katy had to be home by a particular hour, not stay out late with office colleagues and not be drunk enough not to answer his calls. Perhaps the perky office colleagues are trying to help, and perhaps Katy is trying to reach out for help. It has simple staging

Night and day: The Reality @CervantesTheatr


What's real and what's imagined seem to be at the heart of The Reality. A new piece of writing by Denise Despeyroux and translated by Sarah Maitland. It's currently playing at the Cervantes Theatre.

Told over a series of video chats, one sister is dying, and the other has to become more like her. Or is that what's happening? Is there a good sister and a darker sister? One sister who loves life and the other despair.

As the sisters converse, it becomes less clear what really is happening and what are the games being played here.

Maite Jáuregui holds your attention throughout, with her energetic performance as the darker sister. Full of rage and anger. Walking into the theatre, she is repeatedly chanting. It was quite an achievement as she had to do it for an extra five minutes due to latecomers. But the pre-recorded video of her alternate sister feels more like a gimmick and is often a distraction instead of supporting the drama and themes of the piece.

Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable exploration of life and the choices we make. Whether there is light or darkness, it's all one and the same. Designer Mariachiara Maracci has given the character a room full of books, suggesting unexplored knowledge or opportunities yet to be grasped.

Written by Denise Despreyroux, translated by Sarah Maitland and directed by Raymi Renee, the Reality is at the Cervantes Theatre until 18 May. Midweek performances are in Spanish and Friday and Saturday performances are in English.

Photo by Elena Molina

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