“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.”
Please Do Not Touch follows Mason, a social-justice TikToker who tours heritage houses in search of the real stories behind the objects they display. But after an incident involving a Somali Afro comb, Mason is wrongly incarcerated in a Young Offender Institution. Thrust into the very system he has been challenging, he must find a way to survive—while holding on to his voice in a world designed to silence him.
An extension of Casey Bailey’s acclaimed poetry collection, the production confronts questions of colonial legacy, contested heritage and who gets to tell our stories. It also shines a crucial light on Britain’s criminal-justice system and the lived experience of young Black people within it.
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 co-production between China Plate and Belgrade Theatre, in association with Birmingham Hippodrome.
Performances:
Thu 12 Mar — 7.30pm
Fri 13 Mar — 7.30pm (BSL performance)
Priority booking:
Opens 20 Nov 2025 at 1pm for Playhouse Pass, Priority Access, Supporters’ Club and Under 30s members.
General booking opens 27 Nov 2025 at 12.30pm.
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