EDINBURGH 2023: Review: HONEYBEE, Pleasance Courtyard

As bass blasts through the speakers of the cave-like intimate theatre, Elle Dillon-Reams bursts onstage in a sequined jumpsuit, limbs pulsing in time to the rhythms. HoneyBEE, a solo performance combining spoken word, dance, gig theatre, physical theatre, and storytelling maintains this electric festival energy throughout. 

Scotsman Newcomer Award winner Dillon-Reams embodies the heady thrill of a drug-induced high, leading us through her experience at a music festival with her best friend Niall, his girlfriend Melissa, and their group of friends. Sometimes it's joyous, celebrating young friendship, but there’s a darkness that begins to creep in. A tragedy causes the show to morph into an exploration of guilt, self-worth, and growing up.

Dillon-Reams is a fantastically engaging performer. Creating a festival atmosphere in a small, dark theatre space isn’t easy, but by the first musical number the room feels different. She delivers fast-paced poetry with skill and bravado, while also keeping movement sequences from feeling awkward. The moments of audience participation are fun and don’t feel shoe-horned in - I find myself at various points clutching a pot of face glitter and giving a high five. 

HoneyBEE is a hugely ambitious show. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen quite so many forms of theatre or quite so many heavy themes packed into under an hour of theatre in a 50-seater space. At times it perhaps becomes overambitious - the story can be hard to follow, its poignancy lost in the chaos. Themes of disordered eating feel like untethered threads, and sequences including what feels like a stand-up set and a David Attenborough voiceover come out of nowhere. 

This doesn’t take away from the show’s overall impact, however. Several audience members were wiping away tears at the end, and all left smiling. HoneyBEE is the kind of show made for the Fringe, and is absolutely worth a trip… 

HoneyBEE runs at the Pleasance Courtyard on odd dates until 27 August

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