To bee or not to bee - a show inspired by one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies is taking to the stage at the Maddermarket Theatre in Norwich.

Eastern Daily Press: Humble Boy runs from Thursday, April 24 to Saturday, May 3 at the Maddermarket Theatre in Norwich.Humble Boy runs from Thursday, April 24 to Saturday, May 3 at the Maddermarket Theatre in Norwich. (Image: submitted)

Humble Boy, by Charlotte Jones, is said to combine the domestic comedy of playwright Alan Ayckbourn with the tragedy of Shakespeare's Hamlet and the wit and repartee of Tom Stoppard.

In a plot echoing that of Hamlet, the death of astrophysicist Felix Humble's father brings him home to attend his father's funeral and to his horror he discovers his mother, Flora, has purged the household of his father's belongings, and is planning to marry George Pye, whose daughter, Rosie, is Felix's former lover. Worst of all, his father's beloved bees have been removed.

The show - which is directed by Tony Fullwood - is one of a number of events with links to Shakespeare to take place at Maddermarket this year, the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth.

In recent weeks the theatre also held a mini Shakespeare festival which included productions of As You Like It and Hamlet: The Undiscovered Country. The Norwich Players and Friends also presented Shakespeare's Greatest Bits, an evening of songs, sonnets and speeches, and there was a Strolling with Shakespeare event around the city.

• Humble Boy runs from Thursday, April 24 to Saturday, May 3. Tickets £8-£12.

For more information and to book call the box office on 01603 620917 or visit www.maddermarket.co.uk