Polar Bears

by Mark Haddon

Polar Bears is a captivating tale by awardwinning writer Mark Haddon. Balancing humour and pathos, it tells of one man's struggle to love, support and live with someone suffering from a psychological condition. With an elliptical structure and teasing timeline, the play handles the subject sensitively, with vivid, sympatheticallydrawn characters and nicelybalanced dialectics. Polar Bears is thoughtprovoking and intelligent, with echoes of Nietszchean philosophy, and it refuses to offer any easy answers for those embroiled in mental instability. The plot is as John has never met anyone like Kay. When the moon is in the right phase, she is magnetic and amazingly alive. But when the darkness closes in, she is lost to another world, a world in which John does not belong.

Mark Haddon is a hugely celebrated writer who is best known for his 2003 novel The Curious Incident of The Dog in the NightTime, which won a string of prestigious awards, including the Whitbread Book of the Year. It quickly became an international bestseller, was printed in 32 countries and translated into 15 languages.

Polar Bears is his first work for the theatre and enjoyed a high profile premiere at the Donmar Warehouse 1 April 22 May 2010, directed by Jamie Lloyd and starring Jodhi May and Richard Coyle.

Genres: Plays

84 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2010

About the author

Mark Haddon is an English novelist, best known for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003). He won the Whitbread Award, the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award, the Guardian Prize, and a Commonwealth Writers Prize for his work.

Reviews

[Pooya Kiani · Rating 2 out of 5]

کم‌مایه و خالی از نبوغ.

[Gem Beverley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended reading for the FutureLearn 'Literature and Mental Health' course I will be starting next week. Interesting read - like its subject (bi-polar disorder) glimpses of highs and lows: terrifying, unsettling and moving yet I found myself chuckling at some of dialogue. Not sure I will ever read another script in which Jesus (but is it really he?) explains the stages of human decomposition (to be honest, not sure I'd want to read that again!).

[Augustus · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this was awful.
Didn't get inside the head of Kay, the one with bipolar, at all.
Left people thinking that those with bipolar are selfish and needy and nasty.
Awful.

Not a well written play either.
Full of ridiculous 'events' or absurdities to try to make the audience think something clever is being said - it's not.
Avoid.

[Ayasha Nordiawan · Rating 5 out of 5]

“People stick hearts on Valentine's cards and get married in white dresses and give each other flowers. They think love is every-thing going right. That's not love. That's self-indulgence. That's good luck. Love is when you walk into the burning building. Love is when the person who means most to you in the world is breathing through a mask and pissing in a bag. Love is when they no longer know your name.”

I did a Kay monologue from this play all the way back in Grade 10, so in a way, I think I knew that this was going to be heartwrenching and rip me into pieces, but doesn't mean I was prepared for the way it rips me into pieces anyway.

[Jean-paul Audouy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s only 80 pages so I finished it in one sitting. The polar bear in the tittle is the bi-polar condition of Kay and it’s just as dangerous and unpredictable as the wild animal. Beautifully written, thought provoking, erudite and a little depressing if you ever had to deal with someone you loved who went through the same ups and downs. I was reminded there’s not much one can do and the helplessness, the impossibility of “reaching” your loved one’s mind is probably the most frustrating thing there is. The tragic conclusion even if it seems out of proportion, makes sense.

[Aaron Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fine. It has some good speeches in it. I like the stuff about Philosophy and about Nietzsche. There are also a couple of really great sequences in it – one with Jesus, one about decomposition, one with a small girl.

This is a play that is not about mental illness but is rather about what it is like to live with someone who has a mental illness. This is rather a large difference. I'm not saying this is a bad thing or that I wanted this play to be something other than it is, but there is a difference between these two things.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 4.5 I think! Written as a play but getting the story and richness of characters across to the reader as well as any novel, this serves as a great reminder to be patient with someone suffering with mental illness, and how difficult that can be a lot of the time. Beginning and ending with a devastating consequence of letting that patience slip, this is a fantastic read.

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly short, punchy, witty, deep play. MH has an incredible ability to get to the heart of his characters in no time, without it being forced or farcical or preachy. He leaves you every time feeling wretched, inspired and awed.

[Lukas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's odd how Haddon works. First "A Curious Incident" and now this, he really knows how to tug on people's emotions. This play is so interesting, and I am still unsure why the play has this title. But it's a gripping play. The scenes are not in chronological order. It's a funny play, and it's a sad play. I really would love to see this done. There's a lot of this play that I don't understand.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story but too expensive

The storyline was good, and as someone who has bipolar I can recognise the disorder manifesting within the text.
I wasn't too keen on the ambiguity of some scenes, the lack of context; however this is just personal preference.
What I found worst was the price; had I realised that £6.99 bought only 97 pages, I wouldn't have wasted my money.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very thought provoking at times.

[Sophie]

I'm really not sure what to make of this. It's a book/play I need to spend some time thinking about. I might have more thoughts (and an actual rating) at a later date.