Bears in Space NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (77)
See it if you would love to see the 50s sci fi puppet show your friends made at 10-years-old written, acted and directed professionally.
Don't see it if you think good theater has to be serious.
See it if You want to see sci-fi fable told thru really raggedy bear puppets. Among my group, consensus was "Dafuq did I just watch? Like it, though"
Don't see it if You don't want to see something weird, preferring a conventional stage experience.
See it if You are entertained by quirky, surprising and inventive theatre and can laugh easily at ridiculousness.
Don't see it if You don't like puppetry or unusual staging/story; and silliness irritates you
See it if you enjoy a silly story with great puppets. It is very fringe show like.
Don't see it if puppets are not your thing.
See it if you enjoy absurd humor and self-aware shows and want to see something lighthearted.
Don't see it if you want to see a moving production. or are particularly keen on space being a part of the show. it's mostly bears.
See it if enjoy very funny writing and over the top acting. the puppets and visuals are great.
Don't see it if monty python type humor or puppets
See it if You like British humor and interesting stories told through puppetry
Don't see it if You don't like puppets or bears
See it if You want some really good laughs in a refreshing show. Original and creative. Fun, inventive storytelling! You're open to silliness.
Don't see it if You take yourself or theater too seriously. You dislike puppets. Your humor is high brow.
Critic Reviews (27)
“After only a few minutes, you’ll find you’ve acquired the mind-set of a rowdy, sleep-deprived university student at 4 a.m., giddily sharing fantasies with fellow nerds for whom goofiness is next to godliness...'Bears in Space' allows plenty of room for deliberately uneasy improvisation, as if its narrators were always expecting to be caught with their trousers down...Considerations of things meta take a back seat to the straight-faced pursuit of silliness."
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"Quinn’s larkish comedy is basically down to earth; it wants only to amuse, and it does so very appealingly...This is not a one-star show; it’s a constellation where everyone gets a chance to shine...Amid the wacky side characters, dopey-clever jokes and sci-fi goofery, a few lessons are eventually learned about friendship and courage, but it’s all in silly, adorable fun. Bear it and grin."
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"An otherworldly hoot. Four actors from Ireland’s Collapsing Horse company manipulate charmingly ragtag animal puppets to tell a sci-fi story that’s equal parts 'Winnie the Pooh' and 'The Empire Strikes Back'...An hour with the fluffy little heroes—who all look as if they’ve rescued from a moldering toy chest—leaves you feeling the universe has been kept safe for funny business."
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"Completely insane—and insanely enjoyable...The laughs, which defy explanation, are plentiful...The chemistry of the four leading men also adds to the enjoyment...That their ensemble work is so exactingly perfect is a credit to Colley's direction, which takes the silly material very seriously...It's unusual, sure, but 'Bears in Space' is also surprisingly relatable. There's a great big heart beating at its center."
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"Hilarity abounds at ‘Bears in Space,’ the zany, captivating show currently at 59E59 Theaters…This madcap theatrical event combines puppetry and storytelling techniques in perfect measure…The four storytellers employ simple, but creative techniques like shadow imaging, music and clever characterizations. Part of the fun of ‘Bears in Space’ is that you don't know what will happen next or how the absurdities will be portrayed…A distinctive and completely entertaining show."
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"‘Bears in Space’ quickly reveals itself to be a nonstop parade of strenuously unfunny non-sequitur gags…What's lacking here is rigorous discipline and a strong point of view…Everything about ‘Bears in Space’ is slapdash, from the troupe's timing to the ratty bear puppets that look as if they have been through the rinse cycle one too many times, to the frankly bad lighting…It's rather like watching a quartet of collegians sitting in a dorm room, inventing comic bits to crack each other up."
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"It is strange, funny, charming, and wonderfully acted by a quartet of performers straight out of a universe inhabited by the likes of Monty Python...Despite the loopy silliness and deliberate low-end production values, you may find yourself growing rather fond of these oddball characters, brought gloriously to life by the cast and director Dan Colley. More than anything, the show is a tribute to the power of the imagination."
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"'Bears in Space' is fringe-zany puppetry at its most infectious — a comedy gone viral, captivating a cult audience who appreciates mad leaps in imagination. Darkly quirky -- 'bears' witness to a fun and delightful theater experience that is both fringe-zany and pun-wacky."
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