A musical show about bees, created by two Dorset based artists, will be performed at Glastonbury Festival this year.
The Buzztastic Bee-Balancing Blundershow will be performing at the family orientated area Kidzfield at the music festival held at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset this summer.
The tent is part of the festivities of the weekend this year held between Wednesday, June 26 to Sunday, June 30, with Dua Lipa among a host of stars to perform on the iconic Pyramid Stage.
Two artists who live on Portland, Dan Babei and Sophie Fretwell created the family-friendly musical show about bees in order to teach young people about the importance of bees and how essential they are to the eco-system.
The idea of a started after a passion from the pair for championing and protecting what they describe as ‘nature’s small and sometimes overlooked, hard-working, fluffy insects’ and the struggles of a Romanian migratory parent to find his community.
Dan, one of the co-creators, is a Romanian artist from Transylvania and performs the role of Doctor Abilenele- the magical, Romanian bee-whisperer who visits a town without bees to show them the benefits of all types of bees.
This includes the potential medicinal benefits of the honey from his Transylvanian Carpathian bees.
Joining Dan on stage will be other local performers Ethan Skillman, Laura Urquhart, Jennie Jones and Rob Watkins.
According to Dan, bee-keeping is a large part of culture in Transylvania, a place with a diverse range of flora and fauna.
Dan wanted to share this part of Romanian culture to a new audiences, and so the show features an array of Romanian folk songs with translations of key words.
Sophie Fretwell is a graduate of Arts University Bournemouth and the designer, director and co-creator of the show.
Upon hearing the news that they would be lining up at Glastonbury Kidzfieldz, Sophie was ‘overjoyed.’
“I just couldn’t 'bee'-lieve it,” she joked before emphasising how big the occasion is: “It’s such an amazing opportunity, and I can’t wait to go.”
The troupe were commissioned following an open call for Bournemouth Emerging Arts Festival 2023.
Already appearing at the Bridport Bee Festival earlier this year, Glastonbury will be the final location on their local tour which will also see them perform at Lulworth Castle, Buckler’s Hard, Kingston Lacy, Dorchester Corn Exchange, Stourhead and Camp Bestival.
The group have said the majority of shows are free to attend and will bring the story of Doctor Albinele and his magical hive alive. Dressing up as a bee is encouraged.
Details of the events can be found on the show’s Facebook page, @TheBeeCircus, or on the relevant events' websites.
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