Beyond The Veil

Helen Ward July 31, 2013

"There's something the matter with April - I think she's" (pause for effect) "DEAD!”

As Scene of Crime Officers swarm over the dead beekeeper's body, it quickly becomes clear that Thistledale Allotment has experienced its first murder and that, in the eyes of DCI Mark Starkey, the allotmenteers are all suspects. Surely it couldn’t be Bert or Maude? What about that new chap at Plot 5 – he doesn’t seem to know his brassicas from his legumes (and he’s from “Down South”)? Will the murder give Councillor Crotty, the allotment’s arch enemy, the excuse she needs to close Thistledown on health and safety grounds? Has anybody seen the dog? Has anybody asked the bees?

Beyond the Veil is another original production by the versatile and highly talented Mikron Theatre Company which combines humour, melodrama and song with fascinating insights into the world of bees, courtesy of Beeky Bob from TUBA (The Urban Bee Association). As the plot unfolds, the DCI (and the audience) starts to realise that the key to the mystery lies in understanding how human behaviour can mimic the complex and sometimes deadly behaviour of bees.

Mikron is theatre at its most basic – a group of four actors who, in a throwback to the days of strolling players, travel the country in a canal boat. The company’s aim is bring original and accessible theatre to non-traditional audiences by performing in venues as varied as pub gardens, museums and, in this case, Oxford Science Park’s Sadler Building. They will be performing Beyond the Veil, alternating with Don’t Shoot the Messenger (described as a “light hearted romp through five centuries of postal history”) in venues around Oxfordshire from 6th-17th August 2013. Highly recommended.

For details of forthcoming performances, see the Mikron Theatre website.

Nathalie Francis July 31, 2013

Mikron Theatre have been touring theatre along the waterways for over 42 years on a 77 year old boat, Tyseley. For both a small-scale theatre company and a narrowboat their endurance is quite a feat, and their productions are well worth an audience.

In Beyond The Veil we follow Detective Starkey as he investigates a murder of a beekeeper on an allotment in sleepy Thistledale. As the case unfolds every plot twist is unearthed and each character comes under suspicion. Is it new boy Willy? Scheming Councillor Crotty? Or the old fool Burt?

Lively songs were scattered in between scenes and the musical arrangements and lyrics were great fun. Look out for an especially jolly number about the tragic life of a drone bee and some very good a cappella singing. Detective Starkey even had his own Pink Panther style theme tune which was both amusing and a practical way of creating a musical backdrop for his narrating of the whodunnit.

Whereas many of Mikron’s performances take place on watersides, in allotments, pubs or village halls the foyer of the Sadler Building at the Oxford Science Park seemed a strange choice and though the modern, grey interior did protect from the wind and chill outside it also felt quite removed from the countrified characters and the rustic feel of the show, which was a bit of a shame.

Mikron Theatre’s shows are written with historical, political or in this case ecological concerns as their stimulus, and in Beyond The Veil they highlight the value and importance of the bee population that currently struggles to survive due to changes in agriculture. The bee theme is nicely embedded in the plot through parallels between the lives of honeybees and those of the characters embroiled in the murder case, however occasionally the message felt laboured or shoehorned in. There could have been a little more subtlety in the handling of their chosen topic for a more seamless and tight-knit piece of theatre.

Despite its shortcomings, you leave Beyond The Veil better informed about both bees and beekeeping (and motivated to plant the wild flower seeds distributed at the interval!) and after seeing my first Mikron show I really do want to go back for more – luckily they are touring a second production this season, Don’t Shoot The Messenger, which is all about the postal service, and there are plenty more Oxfordshire performances of both plays throughout August.

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