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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

Last orders: We Anchor In Hope @BunkerTheatreUK


The only thing missing when you walk into The Bunker and see it transformed into a working pub is the smell. That unmistakable smell of stale beer that permeates those old places is missing. But everything else is there. The worn carpet, the pool table, the tat on the walls. It's a terrific way to set the scene for the next two hours of comedy and drama that is Anna Jordan's We Anchor In Hope.

Set on the last night of the Anchor, a pub trapped in the eighties when it's 2016 and located somewhere around Pimlico in London. The pub's been sold and about to be redeveloped into luxury flats (or perhaps a Tesco Express). The night before it was packed for the formal closing. But on the final night, a couple of regulars, the bar staff and landlord get together for one last time. But as the bar slowly runs dry and everything is cleared out (even the Aperol), things take a darker turn. And what's revealed is less of a community than a series of frustrations and unrealised dreams.

As the humour and lightness of the first half give way to something darker, it becomes a challenging piece to enjoy. But the ensemble works hard to provide the characters with likability and heart even as their motivations become more transparent.

In the last twenty years, a quarter of all UK pubs have disappeared, with two still closing every day. Changing tastes, higher prices, business rates, taxes and smoking bans have all been blamed for contributing to the demise. But what is really amazing is how long traditional pubs have lasted over the years. And what’s great about this piece is that in its own way it explains why.

Directed by Chris Sonnex, We Anchor In Hope is at The Bunker until 19 October. The pub will also be open for drinks, quizzes and karaoke after the show too. Cheers.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



Photos by Helen Murray

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