Days of our Hives - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Let's get one thing straight; Days of our Hives is not a show about bee puns. Performer and beekeeper Alanta Colley hates them. But when your entire show is about bees, it's not always easy to resist the sweet temptation of a pun, even if it sometimes really stings. Instead, Colley has crafted an entertaining show that leaves its audience utterly fascinated from the facts she presents on the weirdly wonderful world that bees inhabit while providing plenty of laughs.

Days of our Hives is part comedy show and part lecture on bees. Colley provides us with a wealth of information on bees, including the disturbing reality of how honey is actually made and that sometimes abstinence is the best form of safe sex, especially if you are a male bee. Colley uses a slideshow throughout to visually engage the audience and even throws in some home videos of her expertly at work as she searches for a missing swarm.

Colley keeps on topic for most part of Days of our Hives, however the times when she addresses sexism, equality and privilege feel out of place in a show that is exploring the social structures and society of bee life. While what she raises is extremely valid and important in our world, in a show about bee living, it breaks her rhythm and changes the mood of the room that she has firmly established.

Sometimes a show on a topic you know very little about can actually be one of the most interesting shows you can see. Days of our Hives is one such show, and Colley quickly establishes herself as the Queen of weaving a winning story with scientific facts, and maybe with some puns thrown in for good measure. Who says art and science can't co-exist?

Venue: Belleville, Globe Aly (Off Lt Bourke St) 
Season: Until 22 April | Thurs - Tues 7:15pm 
Length: 50 minutes 
Tickets: $26.30 Full | $22.30 Tightarse Tuesday | $20.30 Concession
Bookings: MICF website