"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 the story of Mason, a social justice TikToker, as he explores heritage houses to uncover the true stories behind the objects that lie within.

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

An extension of Casey’s poetry collection of the same name, the show asks important questions about colonial legacy, contested heritage and how stories are told, whilst shining a light on the criminal justice system.

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.