Teddy Bears Picnic
All the naked bears
Teddy Bears Picnic is a new show from Stories Alive to premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Where and when:
Natural Food Kafe (venue 415) 16:55
4th-13th, 15th-20th, 22nd-26th of August.
Gav is a bear, not the grizzly type or the type you’d buy in a toyshop. But the overweight hairy gay type, and he’s had it with love, gay men and life in general. Join Gav as he meets others from the homosexual menagerie and goes to the Teddy Bears Picnic.
New writing from Stories Alive that will make you laugh, groan and tug at your heart strings.
What people said about the show…
TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC ***
THEATRE
NATURAL FOOD KAFE V 415
AUGUST 4TH TO 26TH (NOT 14,21)
16.55
This is a show performed by a very talented storytelling Otter. (If you do not know what one of those is, come along and find out – there is probably a good bit more you will learn.)
We are in a room beneath a very friendly and wholesome café on Clerk Street, and before us stands said Otter with a small table and a collection of Teddy Bears. With just this, our host takes us into a world of gay relationships, break ups, scene searching, apps, heartbreak and love. Truly quite an achievement, and a very enjoyable one, with many hearty laughs along the way.
Our furry protagonist begins in what all his friends say is the purrfect relationship. But then his partner moves away for work. What is a large forty-eight year old bear to do? He begins taking in the scene, but this brings hope and then disillusion, and some tough nights. There follows the use of the many contemporary means of getting in touch – we all know the ever multiplying sites and apps – with a variety of results.
Our Otter’s collection of Bears of many sizes and shades is made to seem decidedly semi-pornographic. Writhing toys have rarely looked so into each other, and with gay abandon. The narrator’s storyline keeps us engaged, and various voices make us chuckle. Big Bear gets teased, led up false paths and even tied up in his own bed. Difficult can be the path of the mature single Bear. Yet not all the paths into the woods turn out to be dead ends.
This show can be recommended as something quite different, which will be an enjoyable tea-time treat and will leave you with a warm smile.
Tony Challis
Teddy Bears’ Picnic, 3 Stars
Teddy Bears’ Picnic, 3 Stars
Natural Food Kafe (Venue 415)
Suitability 18+
16:55
“Gav is a bear, not the grizzly type or the type you’d buy in a toyshop. But the overweight
hairy gay type, and he’s had it with love, gay men and life in general. Join Gav as he meets
others from the homosexual menagerie and goes to the Teddy Bears’ Picnic.
New writing from Stories Alive that will make you laugh, groan and tug at your heart strings.
Eden Ballantyne is a storyteller and theatre performer. After years as an actor, street
performer, drag queen and children’s party entertainer, he is molding all his skills into one
to create a show about gay bears. When it comes to Bears, Otters, Cubs, Wolves and the
like, Eden was certainly no expert, but it’s been one hell of a year finding out about all the
animals in the gay jungle.”.
It’s tea time at the Natural Food Kafe and in front of you is literally picnic hampers, a car chequer blanket, and teddy bears. Although this is about an all-together different type of bear! The gay male bear!
Eden’s storytelling flows light and easy on a sunny afternoon in a balmy cafe basement. His biography is hilariously enacted as a puppet show using teddy bears to portray the many character bears we encounter. As he explains, one day he stopped waxing, watched his tummy protrude over his waist belt, and realised he’d become a bear.
Throughout his life, bears have come and bears have gone, all leaving their paw prints on his heart and emotions. A little nostalgia, a lot of laughs, and a few absurd situations. Without knowing for sure you’re left with a certainty that at least some of the stories must have an origin of truth. And you hope the “how I met the policeman bear” pig bear story is absolutely true!
We hear how opportunities have changed from meeting in a gay bar to profiling on an app. There are many apps out there now and we’re guided through a few do’s and dont’s, successes, pitfalls and cautionary tales of using modern technology to hook up.
Using stuffed bears as visual props allows the subject matter to go a little more adult than you could with a cast of actors. Eden can indulge deeper depths in his subject matter than would otherwise be possible. With unabashed honesty and giggles from the audience, this show is great fun and very entertaining! Definitely for the Over 18s!!!!