The play debuts at the Teatro Aberto in Lisbon on Friday, June 20, marking the return of the playwright, whom The Guardian, in 2011, deemed one of the leading figures in German theater poised to secure its future.
“In this first family-friendly play, the renowned German author Dea Loher tells a story full of humor, music, and fantasy addressing contemporary issues like global warming and species extinction, as well as timeless themes such as friendship and respect for differences,” wrote the creators of the show in Lisbon during its presentation.
In the play, Benny the bear is forced to leave the Arctic due to global warming. He sets off on a raft with the sole purpose of finding a survivor or partner to ensure that polar bears do not disappear.
Throughout his journey, he encounters a sea full of plastic, a scarcity of food, and forced displacements of other species, reflecting today’s challenges.
In Polynesia, Benny meets Polly the chicken. Diligently, the chicken helps him learn to survive in this dry and hot place, where everything feels foreign to him.
Through music, dance, imagery, song, and spoken word, the story follows animals striving to survive with resilience and humor in a changing world.
At Teatro Aberto, ‘A Polar Bear in the Universe,’ with a Portuguese version by Vera Sampayo Lemos, led to a collective creation featuring music, scenery, costumes, and lighting by Anabela Gaspar, Afonso de Portugal, João Lourenço, Jorge Albuquerque, Marisa Fernandes, Marta Guerreiro, and Sofia de Portugal.
On stage, the cast includes Catarina Lima, João Maria Reis, Kiko Monteiro, and Zita Milene, along with musician Afonso de Portugal.
‘A Polar Bear in the Universe’ is Dea Loher’s third play at Teatro Aberto, following ‘Golpada,’ premiered in 2019, about two impoverished brothers dreaming of wealth at any cost, and ‘Immaculati,’ showcased in 2008, featuring two undocumented immigrants as protagonists.
Born in 1964 in Traunstein, Bavaria, Dea Loher studied Philosophy and German Literature in Munich before settling in Berlin.
Her first play, ‘Olgas Raum,’ received the Hamburger Volksbühne Prize in 1991 and the Playwrights Award at London’s Royal Court in 1993, the same year she was awarded the Goethe Prize for ‘Tatuagem.’
In both 1993 and 1994, Dea Loher was recognized as the Best Emerging Playwright in Germany by the Theater Heute magazine.
Plays like ‘Leviathan,’ ‘Fremdes Haus,’ ‘Adam Geist,’ ‘Manhattan Medea,’ and ‘Unschuld,’ along with frequent performances of her works in Austria, Brazil, France, Norway, the UK, Switzerland, and particularly Germany, underpin awards such as the Else-Lasker-Schüler Prize for her career.
In 2006, she received the Bertolt Brecht Prize.
Dea Loher visited Portugal in 2009 shortly after the premiere of ‘Immaculati’ by Teatro Aberto, during which time Artistas Unidos published two of her texts, ‘Tatuagem’ and ‘Inocência,’ in a translation by José Maria Vieira Mendes.
‘A Polar Bear in the Universe,’ a play intended to “move, entertain, and provoke reflection with the family,” as promised by Teatro Aberto, runs in the company’s Sala Azul until July 27, with performances on Saturdays at 7 p.m. and on Sundays at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The premiere is set for this Friday at 7 p.m.
