Birds and Bees, a new show around the complicated conversations young people have, is being performed this LGBT+ history month at the Playhouse theatre in Sheffield.
The show follows what happens to four year 11 students after they find explicit images circulating on social media.
Milo McCarthy, who plays Billy in the play, said: “It leads to each of the four students questioning the school system and what they can do to change it.”
The new show was written by award winning writer Charline Josephine, working alongside Theatre Centre. It was made with input from students and teachers, tailer-made to educate schools to better educate their students around these complex topics.
Milo said: “For my character who is non-binary, Billy seems really confident and fearless, but as the play unravels, it becomes apparent that they’re still dealing with some things privately, which gradually the audience sees.
“As a transgender person myself, obviously It’s impossible not to bring in your own personal experiences in and that can let me emotionally relate and connect to the character in a way I couldn’t otherwise.”
Milo thinks school seems starkly different now from when they were in school, saying “Social media wasn’t a thing when I was in school like it is now. It has such a huge influence”.
They said how Billy being so confident and powerful gave them this “little air of magic which just makes them that much more special”.
The response has been amazing so far from children in schools. They said: “It’s been really interesting to hear how differently each of them interprets the show. Each student takes away something different.”
Director Robb Watt said: “The core of this show digs into how young people have complicated conversations around gender, identity, sexuality, power and consent. It asks the question, ‘If we can learn to have complex conversations, then how would the world change for the better?”.
These conversations are particularly prominent outside the theatre right now throughout LGBT+ history month.
Milo said how they definitely felt there was progress in the teachers’ conversations about sexuality, social media and gender being spoken about within schools.
“I mean, the fact in itself that schools are even inviting us to come in, shows the progress.”
Milo said that in the theatre performances, “Adults are having a similar response to the children. They’ve seemed really emotional and moved by it, and it seems to make them reflect on their own school experiences, which are different to what is shown in our show.”
They added: “I think its so important the students get to see a show like this with so much inclusivity, just for them to see characters of different ethnicities or sexualities.”
Birds and Bees is on at the Playhouse theatre in Sheffield 9th-11th of February 2023, and is continuing to tour to schools and other theatres in the Uk in coming months.
[Featured image: Theatre Centre]