The Last Polar Bears

May - June 2012

Overview

The Last Polar Bears tells the story of an old man and his dog, Roo, on a quest to the North Pole to see the polar bears before all the ice melts.

The Company is undertaking the four week tour on bicycles, visiting primary schools in Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, the Borders, East Lothian and Edinburgh.

On tour, the play is followed by a workshop for pupils which will explore the production, as well as issues of climate change and cycling. As part of the production’s legacy towards climate change and to safeguard the future of polar bears, the National Theatre of Scotland is adopting 17 Svalbard Polar Bears with the World Wildlife Fund to give to each of the primary schools on the tour.

The play is performed in the natural light of school halls using puppetry and live music. The cast and crew are cycling the three hundred mile round trip to venues, on custom-built bikes, for the duration of the tour. The bicycles are made from reclaimed bikes by Glasgow’s Bike Station and funded by Mackie’s of Scotland.

The cast will carry all costumes, set, props and personal belongings on their bikes throughout the tour. There will be no support vehicles. The bespoke vinyl panniers, created by messenger bag specialists Trakke, are made from recycled National Theatre of Scotland banners.

Supported by Mackie’s of Scotland.