Q&A : ARC Bee Story

We're interviewing incredibly talented director and performer for ARC Circus Robert Curtis on his Edinburgh Fringe show A Bee Story. Debuting at the Underbelly, the show follows the tale of the Queen Bee and Worker Bee as they have to rebuild their beloved hive after it was destroyed in a wild bushfire. Touching story aimed at family and children is filled with a kaleidoscope of circus, acrobatics, dance and live music.

Tell us a bit about ARC Circus?

My name is Robbie Curtis and I’m the Director of Arc Circus based on the Gold Coast in Australia. I’ve been performing internationally for over 15 years with Cirque Du Soleil, Circa, Circus Oz, Australian Ballet and more. Arc Circus has been running for the last 3 years, and it came out of a passionate pursuit to tell important stories through Circus, Dance and Theatre. Arc was formed during the pandemic by myself and Lizzie McRae, as we were stranded in Australia after both of us having international careers before the pandemic. We are multidisciplinary, with acrobatics, juggling, unicycling, live music and comedy. We wanted to form a company together that celebrated all of these skills, and most of all to tell good stories.

What should the audience of A Bee Story expect when watching your show at this years Fringe?

A Bee Story is a uniquely Australian physical theatre show for children and families incorporating a kaleidoscope of circus, acrobatics, dance and live music. It tells the story of Queen Bee and Worker Bee who must work together to rebuild their hive after being destroyed by a bushfire. But things never quite go to plan...

Join the bees on their buzzy adventures and be enchanted by their pollen-collecting skills, honey- making abilities, and super-bee strength. A Bee Story has themes of environmentalism, sustainability, and community spirit, and was directed by performer Robbie Curtis (Circa, Cirque du Soleil, Circus Oz, Australian Ballet), and co-created with musician and performer Lizzie McRae.

What is one thing you hope people will take away from your show?

At Arc we are passionate about telling important stories, and A Bee Story is no exception. We have made a show about environmental issues, friendship and working together, although the main feeling we want to instill in the audience is joy. We aim that regardless of the messages of our show, the audience comes away feeling uplifted, hopeful, and inspired. It's important that we have joyful shows at the moment, simply because if you turn on the TV things don't seem rosey, and so an hour of escapism of watching some world class acrobats perform like bees is a pretty great use of time. A Bee Story celebrates physicality and tackles some big ideas through circus.

We fundamentally want the audience to come away from the show feeling inspired and hopeful. We have poured our hearts into this show, and from its success so far people have come away wanting to buy a ticket for the next day's show.

How difficult is it to incorporate Circus, acrobatics, dance and live music all into on show?

We have worked so hard to mix Circus, Dance, Theatre and Music all together in A Bee Story. We honestly wanted to mix them to create something very new. It has been a difficult process as the muscles to play flute are very different from the muscles of balancing another human on your shoulders.

If you could be reborn as any animal, what would it be?

A Worker Bee of course

Is this a first time visiting Scotland for Arc Circus?

For Arc Circus Yes. We have both been to Scotland before, but we are just so excited about bringing our work to Edinburgh.

See A Bee Story at Underbelly during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 3-28 August. For more information and tickets visit www.edfringe.com or www.underbellyedinburgh.com