Birmingham writer brings critically acclaimed show to city ahead of national tour

Former Birmingham Poet Laureate Casey Bailey’s critically acclaimed show, Please Do Not Touch, is coming to Birmingham next January, before embarking on a national tour.

Presented by China Plate and Belgrade Theatre in association with Birmingham Hippodrome, Please Do Not Touch plays at the Hippodrome’s Patrick Studio Thursday 29 to Sunday 31 January, 2026.

Directed by award-winning theatre maker Gail Babb (Stars, Tamasha - OFFIE’S Best New Play 2024), 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.”

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 and 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."

Please Do Not Touch is at Birmingham Hippodrome’s Patrick Studio from Thursday 29 to Sunday 31 January 2026 in the Patrick Studio.

Tickets can be booked online or by calling 0121 689 3000.