Q&A: Natalie Bellingham, The Polar Bear (Is Dead)

Physical performer, clown and 2021 Funny Women Awards alumni Natalie Bellingham, is bringing her (and her co-star Daniele Pennati) new show The Polar Bear (is Dead) to Camden People’s Theatre. Here she talks to Tash Snaith about climate change, grief, change and the Spice Girls.

Tell us about your show:

It started out as a show about climate change, but during the development process, both of us [performers; Natalie and Daniele Pennati] lost our mums, and that impacted the way that we looked at everything. A phrase that kept coming up was: have you ever thought about what it is to lose something forever. That was something the show dealt with before [about climate change], but after everything, we thought; corr, that feels different now.

This world is what we have, and we want it to be as good as it can be. Unlike human loss, climate change is something we have control over. There’s this duality of: losing people important makes you want to go ‘fuck it life’s too short’, but there’s a bigger picture [ie climate change], and we have to try and hold onto that bigger picture.

In the show, we try to find that balance between the humanity and tragedy of people. For example, Daniele and I had planned to go to the Spice Girls reunion tour, but after his mum passed a couple weeks before, couldn’t. There’s something brutally honest in anyone who has experienced that duality, where, you’re devastated, but you’re also somewhere thinking, fuck, I really wanted to go to the concert. And it’s the same duality for climate change. I don’t want the polar bears to die, but also I’m quite cold at home so I will crank my heating up.

That was the journey the show went on, and so I think in a nutshell, the show is about climate change, grief, friendship, loss, and the complexity of all that.  

You feel really passionately about climate change, do you think your show will raise awareness and get people to act?

With the show, I was afraid of telling everyone what they already know – the planet is dying and we have to make changes. You can’t just boil it down to recycling, its huge and we’re in it now. We didn’t want people to think ‘it’s too late, what’s the point’, but instead, to try to do their best, eyes wide open.

I think the most anyone can hope from making a show is that people have a conversation about it. And if people continue to have that conversation, they’ll change each other’s minds about things. I want this show to make people go: little things do matter, and you’ve got to keep going. Rather than ignore because it’s too stressful or too sad to think about. I think that’s really important.

How would you describe the genre / style of your show?

It is multi media. There’s projection. There’s audio. Daniele is on Zoom and I am in the space live. It’s contemporary, we talk to the audience and then we don’t talk to the audience. We’re both clown trained, so both very physical performers.

It’s a comedy show that deals with big things in a series of conversations, but not in a boring way. Daniele and I have a conversation, the polar bear tries to have a conversation with a rhino, and then I have a conversation with my mum – I play a recording of a conversation I had with her before she died. So, a series of conversations.

Who are some of your inspirations and favourite funny women?

Amy Gledhill – we went to the same Uni and I think she’s a bit of a legend.

Kat Bond – I met Kat Bond on a clowning course 15 years ago. I love Kat Bond.

Julia Masley – female clown, she’s mega.

Lara Ricote – who won the 2021 Funny Women Awards. She’s brilliant and so nice.

Dan’s company in Italy – they’re super stars. I love their work.

They’re all people I’d ask to come and work with me on something.

Anything else?

One little fact we enjoyed while making the show, was that humans named themselves homo sapiens which literally means ‘wise man’, but then we’re possibly the only species to cause our own extinction. People ate all the Galapagos turtles into extinction and thought ooh these are tasty, but they didn’t know better, and we do know better, and we are still going on as we are.

I always want my work to have a life after the show ends; in the bar later, or in front of the TV the next night, wherever. I’d love for people to chat about what we have and how we can hold onto it for as long as possible before things change.

The Polar Bear (is Dead) is on at the Camden People’s Theatre, Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th April, 7:15pm. You can nab a ticket here.