“They will tell you that legal and illegal are the same as right and wrong. And I’ve told you that you only have to sit still for a moment and watch the pieces move to see what a lie that is.”
Written by former Birmingham Poet Laureate Casey Bailey (GrimeBoy, Birmingham Rep) and directed by award winning theatre maker, Gail Babb (Stars, Tamasha – OFFIE’S Best New Play 2024), Please Do Not Touch is a brand-new co-production between China Plate and Belgrade Theatre.
An extension of Casey’s poetry collection of the same name, Please Do Not Touch follows the story of Mason, who is an activist. He’s always been able to talk his way out of trouble, win any argument and speak out against injustice until an incident in a heritage house takes all that away from him.
Finding himself in a Young Offender Institution, Mason must navigate how to keep speaking up when everything is designed to silence him. Join us for this world premiere, as we follow Mason into the belly of the systems he has been protesting.
The show asks important questions about colonial legacy, contested heritage and how stories are told, whilst shining a light on the criminal justice system.
“One of Birmingham’s best and brightest voices.” – Vanessa Kisuule
“Rooted in local issues and lives, it is utterly refreshing to see this kind of theatre, spoken with its own poetic, streetwise argot.” – The Guardian on Grimeboy
CAST & CREATIVES
- Writer – Casey Bailey
- Director – Gail Babb
- Actor (Mason) – Tijan Sarr
- Designer – Miriam Nabarro
- Sound Designer – Kayodeine
- Lighting Designer – Gillian Tan
- Dramaturg – Yaël Shavit
- Movement Director – Keiren Hamilton-Amos
- Associate Producer – Jade Samuels
