Christy Lefteri’s literary hit, The Beekeeper of Aleppo, is staged for the first time, stopping in The Quarry Theatre where Leo Owen caught the show

Inspired by time spent working in a Greek refugee camp, Lefteri tells the story of a family fragmented by war. Nuri (Alfred Clay) narrates his treacherous journey, leaving Aleppo and travelling across Europe, hoping to be safely reunited with his cousin in the UK.

Produced by Nottingham Playhouse in association with Liverpool Everyman, Nesrin Alrefaai’s and Matthew Spangler’s adaptation brings heartbreak and humour. It opens with a jarring switch from Composer Elaha Soroor’s instrumental score to a voice-over of an impatient and rude interrogator demanding “Why are you here?” before descending into a series of flashbacks, illustrating lost stability.

Joseph Long as Mustafa, Nuri’s cousin, takes our protagonist on a beehive tour, immediately contextualising the story’s title and prompting the start of a fulfilling business partnership. Olivier Award-winning Director Miranda Cromwell has her cast play multiple roles and fractures Nuri’s memories, interspersing pointless Immigration Office questions with tender and painful flashbacks.

Designer Ruby Pugh’s sand coloured set is ingenious and versatile, depicting desert mounds, war-torn landscapes, beehives and sparse shelters equipped with basic furnishings. It later becomes a metaphorical representation of the characters’ emotional state too. The whole back wall is used for projections from British TV show snippets that mystify the refugees to more distressing footage of a country in ruin. Particularly moving are scenes of war-torn Aleppo while the two male leads look on and red flowers projected as they flee their homeland. The build-up to the water crossing is heart-breaking too with some clever staging, combining sea projection and the cast squished together on a raft, doubling up through much of the play as a bed. While dialogue in this scene perhaps doesn’t quite capture the peril of their situation, Pugh certainly visually transports us.

The decision to rewind the story to explain Nuri’s sleeplessness creates an additional plot twist, beyond the hook of the whereabouts of Nuri and Afra’s (Roxy Faridany) son. Alrefaai and Spangler play on British stereotypes to try to inject some light relief, perhaps over-egging it a bit for some. In a Bed and Breakfast beside the sea eight refugees from the likes of Morocco, Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria together await judgement for their future. Nuri’s Moroccan chum reads “How to be a Brit”, sharing helpful insights and attempting to assimilate with the locals in attire and lingo.

At times including some pessimistic views on humanity (“People are not like bees – we have no sense of the greater good”), commentary on red tape hypocrisy and very negative stereotypical representations of those working with refugees, Alrefaai and Spangler’s script is also littered with beautiful lyrical lines and factual beekeeping nuggets.

With the team reunited who adapted the hugely successful The Kite Runner, it’s no surprise The Beekeeper of Aleppo reigns triumphant too. Harrowing but of obvious contemporary relevance, it is essentially an uplifting story of survival, forcing those of us in the safety of our homes to compassionately reflect on the extreme lengths many are forced to go to in order to simply be with their loved ones.