Don’t you love a tall tale? Like the one about the Scottish couple who raised a 10ft grizzly bear in their home? Sounds crazy, but it’s no joke. It happened in Sheriffmuir in the 1980s! Combining physical comedy and puppetry, Hercules the Bear tells the wild, funny and touching true story of how a very special grizzly bear became a folk legend.
After previewing Hercules the Bear at The Gaity Theatre, Ayr and premiering at The Carinish Village Hall, North Uist, to sell-out audiences and fantastically positive responses, we are delighted to announce our Autumn 2025 tour.
Saturday, 27 September The Gaiety Theatre, Ayr
Tuesday, 30 September The Studio, Edinburgh
Thursday, 2 October Birnam Arts, Dunkeld
Friday, 3 October, Lantern House, Studio Theatre, Cumbernauld (BSL Interpreted)
Saturday, 4 October Strathearn Arts, Crieff
Tuesday, 7 October Catstrand, Castle Douglas (BSL Interpreted)
Wednesday, 8 October Millennium Centre, Stranraer (BSL Interpreted)
Thursday, 9 October Paisley Arts Centre
Saturday, 11 October Platform, Easterhouse
Sunday, 12 October Eastwood Park, Giffnock (BSL Interpreted)
Thursday, 16 October Carinish Village Hall, Uist
Saturday, 18 October An Lanntair Arts Centre, Stornoway
Tuesday, 21 October Eden Court Theatre, Inverness
Wednesday, 22 October Cromarty Arts Trust, Cromarty
Friday, 24 October The Barn Arts, Banchory
Sunday, 26 October Victoria Hall, Dunblane
Tuesday, 28 October Aytoun Hall, Auchterarder
Wednesday, 29 October Aytoun Hall, Auchterarder
Saturday, 1 November Fersands Fountain Community Centre, Aberdeen
Access info and sensory story – Don’t read on if you don’t want spoilers!
Relaxed Performance
All performances of Hercules the Bear are ‘Relaxed’. For us, this means:
You are free to sit where you like, except on the stage
You can leave and come back …or leave and don’t come back
Please feel free to vocalise or stim in a way that is safe for you.
There will be a box of ear defenders in the foyer or at the entrance of the stage. Please borrow what you need; please return them after the performance. You are also welcome to bring your own access aids.
There will be BSL interpreted performances at Cumbernauld, Catstrand, The Millenium Centre and Eastwood Park.
Entering the stage area
When you come into the theatre, the theatre lights will be on, there will be music playing. The performers will not be on stage.
On stage there will be large wooden blocks arranged in the shape of a sofa, and a radio.
The wooden blocks will be moved several times during the performance to make different spaces – a living room, a bathroom, a swimming pool, a wrestling ring, the isle of Uist.
You can choose your own seat, but please be aware that the performers will enter the auditorium and walk around the audience before entering the stage area. Where they enter from will depend on the layout of each auditorium we perform in.
We encourage family groups to enjoy the show sitting together. It’s not necessary for children to sit at the front and adults to sit at the back.
What to expect during the show
There are 3 versions of Hercules the Bear. One is a small puppet, one is played by a performer, and one is a large, bear-sized puppet. The big puppet will walk past the audience at one point. It won’t touch you intentionally, and won’t stop. Please don’t touch him, although it will be tempting because he is very fluffy and soft!
The performers might say hello to you when they come into the auditorium. It is okay if you don’t want to respond, but you can if you like. For a few moments before they reach the stage, they will run around chasing one another – the performer playing Hercules might want to hide next to you in a playful way, but they will ask if that’s okay and you can say no.
After this, Andy and Maggie don’t leave the stage again. The performer playing Hercules leaves the stage at one point and returns as the fully grown Hercules. Depending on where the backstage door is in the theatre, he might come close to the audience as he enters and leaves.
About 20 minutes into the performance, a big bouncy wrestling stage will inflate. This makes a loud ‘whirring’ sound. There will be loud music playing at the same time. It is a very exciting moment in the show!
There is very little spoken word in the show, but there is some pre-recorded speech. There is pre-recorded music playing for a lot of the performance.
The lighting changes several times and there is one moment where all of the stage lights will go out for a couple of seconds.
Depending on the theatre, the audience will not be in total darkness, so that the performers can see you.
At one point in the show you will be encouraged to cheer, clap, whoop – please go ahead if you feel like it, but if you don’t want to you don’t have to.
Some shows will be captioned and some shows will have a BSL interpreter. You can decide where to sit so that you can see them, or ask the Front of House staff or BSL interpreter for advice on the best place to sit. These performances will be clearly marked when you book your tickets with the venue.
The show has very joyful and exciting moments, but also moments of sadness and loss.
