'Sound Game Experiment' - a performance by Crab & Bee

Part of Reimagining the way we live ‘Sound Game Experiment’ is an original performance created by Crab & Bee (Plymouth-based arts duo visual artist Helen Billinghurst and performance maker Phil Smith) specifically for the Urban Room. Crab & Bee are deploying their diagrammatical method (as described in their book ‘Diagrammatical Performances’ [Routledge, 2026]) to address elements of the history, folklore and future uses of Plymouth Sound. From Drake and the witches summoning a storm against the Armada, via experimental autonomous submarine craft, to the strange cryptid report by Captain Peter M’Quhae from HMS Daedalus at anchor in the Hamoaze in 1848. Drawing on extensive walks around and swims in the Sound, Crab & Bee will deploy a range of performance-methods including storytelling, ceremony, and the use of miscellaneous materials to map out these stories. Using the Urban Room as a ‘three-dimensional metaphor’ Crab & Bee’s ‘Sound Game Experiment’ will animate historical events, geological and geographical becomings, and fantastical imaginings. Audience Advisory - please note this performance features dynamic staging, including light objects being thrown from the stage area. Audience members are advised to remain alert and seated throughout the performance and should refrain from throwing any items back onto the stage – entrance to Urban Room through main Roland Levinsky Building Crosspoint area This event is part of Reimagining the way we live. Developed by the University of Plymouth, Nudge Community Builders and The Box, this collaboration explores how communities, researchers, creative practitioners and policymakers can work together to shape more liveable, inclusive and resilient places. Running across 2026–2027, the Urban Room space and programme will be used to explore how we live now – and how we might live better in the future. Free event – booking advised