Lloyd Beckmann, Beekeeper
Lloyd Beckmann, Beekeeper (2010, 2011)
“Director Kelly Somes guides the production with sensitive, consummate skill. She weaves personal anecdote with audience interaction and skillfully timed moments of theatrical surprise with a casual ease and flawless sense of the moment. Imaginatively conceived, innovatively staged and resonating with the power of personal commitment and universal recognition, Lloyd Beckmann, Beekeeper is everybody’s story. It is a delightful and absorbing theatrical treat that should not be missed.”
The Canberra Times (Peter Wilkins)
“A complex meditation on memory and scraps and fragments that ultimately constitute history.”
Theatrenotes (Alison Croggon)
Description:
A grandfather, his home and the smells and tastes of childhood create a rich landscape for a family history to be told. Lloyd Beckmann, Beekeeper transformed La Mama into a granny flat, and completely immersed its audience into Lloyd’s world by seating them within the set.
Based on a true story, Lloyd Beckmann, Beekeeper is the tale of Queensland battler as told through his grandson’s eyes. This Green Room nominated, one-man show by Tim Stitz and Kelly Somes emerged from conversations between Tim and his grandfather, and traces Lloyd’s romance with bees through family, inheritance and the ripening of age.
Performance History:
Loyd Beckmann, Beekeeper went through several development stages including a showing at La Mama in 2007, a week long residency at HotHouse Theatre’s A Month in the Country program in 2008, a development showing for industry professionals at the Arts Centre Black Box (Full Tilt Program) in 2008, and the final script development period between January-August 2009. The development of the script also included a professional partnership with Carers Victoria. The work had its premiere season at La Mama in 2010 and went onto tour to The Canberra Theatre Centre, The Brisbane Powerhouse and The Old Fitzroy Theatre in Sydney during the same year. The play was selected for the 2011 VCE Playlist, published by Currency Press, and also nominated for a 2010 Green Room Award for Set Design in Independent Theatre.
The script can be purchased through Currency Press.
Credits:
Devisor/Performer – Tim Stitz
Devisor/Director- Kelly Somes
Lighting Design – Bronwyn Pringle
Composition/Sound Design – Liz Stringer
Sound Design/Realisation – Neddwellyn Jones
Aroma Design- Jodie Ahrens
Design Concept & Realisation – Tim Stitz, Kelly Somes & Ashlee Hughes
Production Management – Julie Wright
Stage Management – Julie Wright and Anneli may
Publicist Two Blue Cherries/Soulart – Eleanor Howlett/Sassy Red PR
Producer – Two Blue CherriesPetraKalive
Dramaturg – Jane Woollard
PerformanceMentor– Max Gillies
Photography – Deryk McAlpin, Talya Chalef & Bronwyn Pringle
Productions stills: Deryk McAlpin.
Publicity stills: Talya Chalef