Please Do Not Touch

Please Do Not Touch. Photo courtesy of the Belgrade Theatre.

Please Do No Touch, at the Belgrade Theatre B2 Venue from Wednesday 11 – Saturday 21 September. Written by Casey Bailey, directed by Gail Babb. Times 7.45 nightly and matinee Thursday 1.30pm.

Preview

Dealing with issues around the contested heritage of many of the items on display in our museums and stately homes, Please Do Not Touch follows Mason, a social justice activist, as he endeavours to uncover the true stories behind these disputed artifacts.

This thought-provoking new drama is inspired by an experience writer Casey Bailey had when he visited a nearby Heritage House: “I became very conscious that I would see ‘please do not touch’ signs sitting on artifacts that never should have been touched in the first place, and it sparked something in me.”

After an incident with a Somali Afro comb, Mason finds himself inside a Young Offender Institution. Now in the belly of the systems he is protesting, Mason uses the power of poetry to survive his ordeal and navigate how to keep speaking up when everything is designed to silence him.

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.

Join us for this world premiere, which asks important questions about colonial legacy, contested heritage and how stories are told, whilst shining a light on the criminal justice system.

Described as Eye-opening, Intense and Provocative. Recommended for age 14+ contains strong language and difficult themes.

For tickets go to:  https://www.belgrade.co.uk/events/please-do-not-touch/