"While I admire Haddon's thematic boldness, I find myself resisting the underlying pessimism of a play that makes Beckett look like Little Mary Sunshine."
Michael Billingtion for The Guardian

"There's humour and shrewd observation, but the narrative jumps around abruptly, and its philosophical allusions are clever rather than potent."
Henry Hitchings for The Evening Standard

"This is an ugly, upsetting play that left me wondering if Haddon’s next clinical creation wouldn’t be a serial killer. Still, it has its merits, including [Jodhi] May’s ability to switch pretty quickly from the wistful to the near-feral and the unsentimental warmth of [Richard] Coyle’s performance."
Benedict Nightingale for The Times

"Polar Bears seems to offer little more than facile despair and tricksy dramatic technique...powerfully acted...I find it impossible warmly to recommend a play that is at once irritatingly arty and terminally depressing."
Charles Spencer for The Daily Telegraph

"Vigorous, sometimes serio-joky, sometimes bruised and poetic production."
Paul Taylor for The Independent

"This is a play by turns weird, discomforting and moving."
Mark Shenton for The Stage

External links to full reviews from popular press
Guardian - Telegraph - Independent - Times