I met two very lovely children’s authors at the Bee Detective premiere – Julia Donaldson and Joyce Dunbar. Both are strong supporters of accessible arts for deaf children.
I spoke to Julia Donaldson (author of The Gruffalo) afterwards and she declared our show to be “great fun for deaf and for hearing children – and I learned a lot about bees!”
Having broken my shoulder/wing in the last week of rehearsals (in a cycling accident) the first show was fraught as my director had to stand in for me as the detective. But the team pulled together and we battled on. Gemma valiantly gave a cracking performance every time. It was an amazing feat of old school show-must-go-on-ness.
And if you can’t wait to see us on tour, you can watch a sneak preview and meet the cast on BBC2 on See Hear at 1pm on 30 May. We’re the first item in the show. You can also see a clip of me and my broken wing. I’m trying to heal and regain flexibility in order to reclaim the detective role later in the tour.
And finally, you may have noticed all the union jacks about town lately and wondered what they’re in aid of. I’m beelighted to announce that they are celebrate our marvellous Queen Bee’s third birthday. I look forward to seeing you at her party in our hive this summer.