Mikron Theatre, 'Beyond The Veil' review

The scene on the Scarcroft allotment green at 7pm on Wednesday 29th was reminiscent of a typical British summer festival. An audience of around 60 people wrapped up in blankets and waterproofs, sheltered under a large canopy of eight gazebos, whilst the sky progressively darkened with the promise of more rain. And then the four actors of Mikron Theatre began their opening song and we knew that whatever the weather that evening, we were in for a real treat. 

Mikron provided a skillful mix of wit, music, racy narrative and larger than life characters, in their telling of the murder of April May, a plot holder and bee keeper on Thistledale allotments. Detective Starkey, wearing trenchcoat and trilby, was responsible for solving this mystery, yet there was, "Something about this crazy case about as likely as a heatwave in Hull".

The play was set within the wider context of bee keeping, and so we were informed of the different lives of queen, worker and drone bees. In this respect a definite highlight was the song of the Drone Bee which had us all giggling and laughing over the top of the now steady rain drumming on the canvas above us.

Needless to say the mystery was solved at the end of an excellent evening's entertainment. And the rain did stop, just long enough to take down the gazebos and pack everything away. We now eagerly await 17th September when Mikron returns to York performing, 'Don't shoot the Messenger' at Clements Hall.