Five Reasons To See… Bee Detective

1) Bees. Everyone knows that honeybees are endangered – but how much do you really know about these fascinating superorganisms?  We cunningly present some fascinating biological truths about bees and their survival in the form of a murder mystery for kids. We absolutely stuck to the truth, such as: drone bees have no stingers, worker bees are always female, the queen bee spends her entire life laying eggs and honeybees love birthday cake (Okay, so we did lie about the cake).

2) Escapism. Your children will be captivated and entertained for an hour, and so will you. It’s a charmingly funny show with interactive sections that the whole family can get involved in. As the mystery of the disappearing bees unfolds, Sophie Bee asks the children to help her investigate and invokes their waggle and memory skills to help her defeat the villain.

3) Artistic Accessibility. Cartoons, subtitles, actors speaking and signing – Bee Detective is full of innovative and surprising ways of being accessible. You don’t have to be deaf to appreciate the beauty of sign or the comedy of a good squished mite cartoon. 

4) Experience. Set in a tent featuring a set inspired by honeycomb architecture and high kitsch, with seats that vibrate when the bees buzz, this is a visually stunning piece of theatre with a cracking plot. Children and adults will adore the characters and be completely transported into this bright, bold honeybee world.

5) Award winning company. Bee Detective is presented by Tin Bath Theatre Company, an award winning young company who have been revolutionising the way access is presented in theatre. Having won the inaugural Theatre Sandbox Award in 2012 to develop captioning technology, they have been collaborating with a quite brilliant team of artists to realize this latest show, including animator James Merry, director Gemma Fairlie and designer Kat Heath. The play is written by Sophie Woolley (who also stars as Sophie Bee) who starred in Channel 4’s Cast Offs series and Katie Him’s Dragonfly on Radio 4.

     
Bee Detective can be seen at St Nicholas’ Rest Garden, Dyke Road, opposite St Nicholas’ Church, Brighton, BN1 3LJ on 5 May at 12pm, 2.30pm, 4.30pm and 6 & 7 May at 11am, 1.30pm, 4pm. Signed for deaf audiences.