The involvement of five writers and, to a degree, advance publicity raises expectations Bear Left will be a collection of short plays in the style of JB Shorts or Vignettes. But creators Simon Naylor and Ollie Mills are more ambitious, weaving a series of separate storylines into an overarching narrative.
When snow closes the motorway, a group of travellers are thrown together at Pinkerford Service Station ("twinned with Lapland") and, as a result, get the opportunity to make life-changing decisions.
Imaginality Productions has bust the budget to set up the well-stocked stage set that greets the audience upon entry into the theatre. Split level with a ‘Big Mancs’ café and coffee bar, jukebox, a car and even a lamppost.
Festive shows are not known for subtlety and Bear Left is no exception. A heavily pregnant Marie and her partner Jo (geddit?) are stranded when their car battery goes flat. A pair of estranged Muslim friends reunite. A gay choirmaster carries a torch for his lead singer. A devoted son helps an unhappy teen appreciate the efforts of her mother. A woman exercising a lifestyle choice to be homeless and lodge in a nearby hotel lectures a stressed-out businessman on the need to pay more attention to his family. A Bridezilla explains her insensitive behaviour arises from an effort to eradicate the humble origins of which she is ashamed. One bloke wanders around asking strangers if their name is ‘Dennis’.
Bear Left is a play with music rather than a musical, so Ollie Mills’s songs do not advance the plot but comment on the season. The opening number ironically observes Christmas is the happiest time of year—at least that’s what we’re told. "Last Call for Christmas", on the other hand, is more a sincere celebration of the season.
Creators Naylor and Mills do not offer a restrained production; there is a sense of scenes being shoved into the narrative for a quick laugh. The opening scene in act two is certainly a surprise, but feels like it has been included more for effect than to advance the plot. The twinkly narrator figure contributes little to the crowded plot other than the hint he is angelic in nature.
Sentiment is inevitable during the festive season, but Bear Left abuses the privilege. There is some heavy-handed moralising, and every character is open-minded and willing to change in response to the life-lessons they experience. After a while, you start to wish one of them would say "Bah humbug" just for variety. To an extent, the authors spoof the tendency for characters to be so very sensitive and eager to develop when one comments the main lesson he has learnt during his time at the service station is the motorway network in the North West is in a shocking state.
Although the sentiment slows down the play, there is some excellent dialogue, and the final line is a genuine Christmas cracker.
Bear Left does not completely achieve the ambition of merging separate tales into a single narrative, but, like a Christmas Selection Box of sweets, is so wide-ranging, it is bound to include something to satisfy all audiences.