Birds and Bees Playtext

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by Charlie Josephine

“The whole system needs a reboot, refresh, restart. Revolution’s possible, hear me share from the heart. See us youngers? Online scrolling, always visible. But the Truth is I feel invisible. The youth of today have got so much to say but no one’s listening.”

Leilah is wondering if her Instagram is more of a burden than ‘living her best life’. Billy’s queer and proud but ignored by the education system; they’re tired of feeling invisible. Aarron is learning how to be a man online, and it’s starting to feel toxic. And Maisy, well Maisy’s not that into sex, thank you very much. Thrown together, these four confront their differences and realise their power to create change.

Birds and Bees is a new play by critically acclaimed writer Charlie Josephine (I, Joan, Shakespeare’s Globe) and a searing exploration of identity, consent, sex positivity, online safety and intersectionality. Birds and Bees originally launched digitally during the 2020 lockdown and was watched by over 500 schools across the UK. In 2023, the script was reworked by Charlie alongside groups of young people, in collaboration with Theatre Centre and Sheffield Theatres ahead of a national tour to theatres and schools.