2026 UK tour of new play from former Birmingham Poet Laureate Casey Bailey (GrimeBoy, Birmingham Rep), directed by award-winning theatre maker Gail Babb Stars, Tamasha - OFFIE’S Best New Play 2024).
Opening at Birmingham Hippodrome on 29th January, touring until 13th March 2026.
★★★★★ “Bailey’s gift for the written - and spoken - word is evident throughout the play, and the moments when poetry comes to the foreground align with moments of freedom, joy and power in Mason’s story.” - Warwickshire What’s On
“Please Do Not Touch has a heart and a brain, it is thoughtfully written, sensitively performed and beautifully staged.” - British Theatre Guide
Show Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1139298940
Please Do Not Touch tells the story of a young Black man wrongly imprisoned for stealing a Somali afro comb from a glass case in a historic house. It highlights how some artefacts came to be in heritage houses, how children of colonial Britain feel unwelcome to engage with them and how contemporary society continues to be shaped by this legacy.
The show asks important questions about colonial legacy, contested heritage and how stories are told, whilst shining a light on the Criminal Justice System.
Following a successful premiere and run in Coventry in 2024, China Plate is remounting this critically acclaimed play with Belgrade Theatre and Birmingham Hippodrome to undertake a national tour in Spring 2026.
Casey Bailey said: “When I embarked on the journey of writing this play, I initially saw it as an extension of my poetry collection of the same name. In early discussions I even described it as a ‘theatre adaptation’ of the collection. Over time I have come to realise that this play should not be an extension, or mutation of the poetry collection, it isn’t a branch off the poetry collection’s tree, it is a different tree in the same orchard.
Throughout the process of writing this play, at times the poetry became a barrier to the story. I was trying to tell a story around the poems, or to honour the poems when really, I wanted to honour the feeling that the poems came from. It was work throughout the process with Gail Babb, Yaël Shavit and Jade Samuels that really helped me to understand that the poems were the scaffolding for this story, but the story was not written to serve them.
One of my favourite parts of the process of creating theatre is all the things that happen beyond the page. With Please Do Not Touch this has been the case again. From the start of production watching the director and actor take an idea in my notebook to a walking, talking representation of the ideas that started this journey for me has been all the inspiration I have needed to keep coming back with fresh ideas, and energy.
We have arrived at a stage where lighting, sound and set design are now playing their role in this story and I am in love with everything that they give to the piece. I have been so privileged to work with a team of super creatives. Now, having transferred the idea in my head to a script on the page, and handed it to a team to bring it to life on the stage I am excited to make the final transition and join the audience to take it all in.”
Paul Warwick, Co-Artistic Director of China Plate explains: “This project gives us an opportunity to work with one of Birmingham’s most talented writers, something we’ve been keen to do ever since we saw an early extract of Please Do Not Touch at our Bite Size Festival in 2022. When Jade Samuels brought the project to us for further development, it felt like a perfect fit. The show’s themes of social justice and struggle resonate strongly with us, with our partners, and with the amazing creative team working on the production.
Co-producing with the Belgrade Theatre, working alongside that organisation’s inspiring new leadership team and their dedicated staff, is also a fantastic opportunity. Both our organisations foreground co-creation in the way that we make work. On this show, for example, we have developed the piece alongside staff and volunteers from the Heritage Sector, prison inmates and through a number of workshops with young people attending the incredible Free@Last centre in Nechells. Having the chance to remount the show with the Birmingham Hippodrome is also a huge honour. Working alongside one of the UK’s premier presenting theatres to bring this story to audiences in our home city feels like a full circle moment for a show that began its development journey here nearly four years ago.”
Corey Campbell, Creative Director of Belgrade Theatre said: “This show asks really important questions about colonial legacy, contested heritage and how stories are told, whilst shining a light on the criminal justice system – we’re thrilled to be working on it with China Plate.”
Sophia Griffin, Head of New Work & Artist Development at Birmingham Hippodrome added: "We are committed as an organisation to West Midlands artists, and we are thrilled that Please Do Not Touch, which speaks to our audiences and resonates nationally is coming to the Hippodrome."
China Plate invited the National Trust, along with other organisations, to participate in the research and development phase of the play. The National Trust aims to present the fullest possible history of the places and collections in its care, and this collaboration provided an opportunity for staff and volunteers from a number of National Trust properties in the Midlands to work with writers, artists and the wider production team on the play. While the play is a work of fiction, this collaborative, inclusive and research-based production allows audiences to explore the idea of the country house and its collection, through a different lens.
Tickets on sale now: https://bit.ly/CPPDNT
Running Time: Approximately 65 minutes | Suitable for ages: 14+
Content Warnings: Contains strong language and a reference to suicide. There are references to racism throughout.
Company Information:
Actor | Selorm Adonu
Voiceover - Radio Presenter | Jade Samuels
Voiceover - Marsh / Anson | Corey Campbell
Voiceover - Judge | Paul Warwick
Writer | Casey Bailey
Director | Gail Babb
Scenographer | Miriam Nabarro
Sound Designer | Kayodeine
Lighting Designer | Gillian Tan
Movement Director | Keiren Hamilton-Amos
Dramaturg | Yaël Shavit
Marketing Consultant | Spark Arts Marketing
Engagement Facilitator | Ayan Aden
Associate Producer (China Plate) | Jade Samuels
Executive Producer (China Plate) | Paul Warwick
Production Manager | Phil Clarke
Company Stage Manager | Emily Davies
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
2026 UK tour of new play from former Birmingham Poet Laureate Casey Bailey (GrimeBoy, Birmingham Rep), directed by award-winning theatre maker Gail Babb Stars, Tamasha - OFFIE’S Best New Play 2024).
Opening at Birmingham Hippodrome on 29th January, touring until 13th March 2026.
★★★★★ “Bailey’s gift for the written - and spoken - word is evident throughout the play, and the moments when poetry comes to the foreground align with moments of freedom, joy and power in Mason’s story.” - Warwickshire What’s On
“Please Do Not Touch has a heart and a brain, it is thoughtfully written, sensitively performed and beautifully staged.” - British Theatre Guide
Show Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1139298940
Please Do Not Touch tells the story of a young Black man wrongly imprisoned for stealing a Somali afro comb from a glass case in a historic house. It highlights how some artefacts came to be in heritage houses, how children of colonial Britain feel unwelcome to engage with them and how contemporary society continues to be shaped by this legacy.
The show asks important questions about colonial legacy, contested heritage and how stories are told, whilst shining a light on the Criminal Justice System.
Following a successful premiere and run in Coventry in 2024, China Plate is remounting this critically acclaimed play with Belgrade Theatre and Birmingham Hippodrome to undertake a national tour in Spring 2026.
Casey Bailey said: “When I embarked on the journey of writing this play, I initially saw it as an extension of my poetry collection of the same name. In early discussions I even described it as a ‘theatre adaptation’ of the collection. Over time I have come to realise that this play should not be an extension, or mutation of the poetry collection, it isn’t a branch off the poetry collection’s tree, it is a different tree in the same orchard.
Throughout the process of writing this play, at times the poetry became a barrier to the story. I was trying to tell a story around the poems, or to honour the poems when really, I wanted to honour the feeling that the poems came from. It was work throughout the process with Gail Babb, Yaël Shavit and Jade Samuels that really helped me to understand that the poems were the scaffolding for this story, but the story was not written to serve them.
One of my favourite parts of the process of creating theatre is all the things that happen beyond the page. With Please Do Not Touch this has been the case again. From the start of production watching the director and actor take an idea in my notebook to a walking, talking representation of the ideas that started this journey for me has been all the inspiration I have needed to keep coming back with fresh ideas, and energy.
We have arrived at a stage where lighting, sound and set design are now playing their role in this story and I am in love with everything that they give to the piece. I have been so privileged to work with a team of super creatives. Now, having transferred the idea in my head to a script on the page, and handed it to a team to bring it to life on the stage I am excited to make the final transition and join the audience to take it all in.”
Paul Warwick, Co-Artistic Director of China Plate explains: “This project gives us an opportunity to work with one of Birmingham’s most talented writers, something we’ve been keen to do ever since we saw an early extract of Please Do Not Touch at our Bite Size Festival in 2022. When Jade Samuels brought the project to us for further development, it felt like a perfect fit. The show’s themes of social justice and struggle resonate strongly with us, with our partners, and with the amazing creative team working on the production.
Co-producing with the Belgrade Theatre, working alongside that organisation’s inspiring new leadership team and their dedicated staff, is also a fantastic opportunity. Both our organisations foreground co-creation in the way that we make work. On this show, for example, we have developed the piece alongside staff and volunteers from the Heritage Sector, prison inmates and through a number of workshops with young people attending the incredible Free@Last centre in Nechells. Having the chance to remount the show with the Birmingham Hippodrome is also a huge honour. Working alongside one of the UK’s premier presenting theatres to bring this story to audiences in our home city feels like a full circle moment for a show that began its development journey here nearly four years ago.”
Corey Campbell, Creative Director of Belgrade Theatre said: “This show asks really important questions about colonial legacy, contested heritage and how stories are told, whilst shining a light on the criminal justice system – we’re thrilled to be working on it with China Plate.”
Sophia Griffin, Head of New Work & Artist Development at Birmingham Hippodrome added: "We are committed as an organisation to West Midlands artists, and we are thrilled that Please Do Not Touch, which speaks to our audiences and resonates nationally is coming to the Hippodrome."
China Plate invited the National Trust, along with other organisations, to participate in the research and development phase of the play. The National Trust aims to present the fullest possible history of the places and collections in its care, and this collaboration provided an opportunity for staff and volunteers from a number of National Trust properties in the Midlands to work with writers, artists and the wider production team on the play. While the play is a work of fiction, this collaborative, inclusive and research-based production allows audiences to explore the idea of the country house and its collection, through a different lens.
Tickets on sale now: https://bit.ly/CPPDNT
Running Time: Approximately 65 minutes | Suitable for ages: 14+
Content Warnings: Contains strong language and a reference to suicide. There are references to racism throughout.
Company Information:
Actor | Selorm Adonu
Voiceover - Radio Presenter | Jade Samuels
Voiceover - Marsh / Anson | Corey Campbell
Voiceover - Judge | Paul Warwick
Writer | Casey Bailey
Director | Gail Babb
Scenographer | Miriam Nabarro
Sound Designer | Kayodeine
Lighting Designer | Gillian Tan
Movement Director | Keiren Hamilton-Amos
Dramaturg | Yaël Shavit
Marketing Consultant | Spark Arts Marketing
Engagement Facilitator | Ayan Aden
Associate Producer (China Plate) | Jade Samuels
Executive Producer (China Plate) | Paul Warwick
Production Manager | Phil Clarke
Company Stage Manager | Emily Davies
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Listings Information
29th – 31st January 2026| Birmingham Hippodrome
Hurst Street, Southside, Birmingham, B5 4TB
https://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/
5th February 2026 | The ShowRoom Chichester | Location DS1
Bishop Otter Campus, College Lane, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 6PE
https://theshowroomchichester.co.uk/
7th February 2026| Theatre Royal Bath - Ustinov Studio
Sawclose, Bath BA1 1ET
https://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/
12th February 2026| Arena Theatre
Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV1 1SE
https://www.wlv.ac.uk/arena-theatre/
14th February 2026| The Core at Corby Cube
George Street, Corby NN17 1QG
17th – 18th February 2026| Cambridge Junction
Clifton Way, Cambridge, CB1 7GX
21st February 2026 | Derby Theatre
15 Theatre Walk, St Peter’s Quarter, Derby, DE1 2NF
28th February 2026| Mercury Theatre
Balkerne Gate, Colchester CO1 1PT
https://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/
5th March 2026| Attenborough Arts Centre
Lancaster Road, Leicester LE1 7HA
7th March 2026| Brighton Dome
New Rd, Brighton, BN1 1UG
12th – 13th March 2026| Leeds Playhouse
Playhouse Square Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7UP
https://www.leedsplayhouse.org.uk/
Image Credit: Nicola Young Photography
