Embedded Files
Writer's Note
I’m delighted to finally be working with Birds of Paradise after years of admiring their work from afar. This is a piece I have been thinking about writing for a long time - since becoming aware of the inherent, often Kafkaesque, drama involved in undertaking a disability assessment in this country. The play I had in mind, however, has been greatly enhanced by the provocations and challenges gifted to me by BOP and their associates. It’s been a real collaborative effort and my thanks go out to everyone who gave up their time to help me understand a topic I do not have first hand experience of. I’m proud of what we’ve come up with - a dark comedy that doesn’t claim to have all the answers but hopefully asks a lot of the right questions, in a way that aims to heal political divides rather than exacerbate them.
ROB DRUMMOND
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#DontMakeTea
Cast
Chris: Gillian Dean
Able: Neil John Gibson
Ralph: Aidan Scott
Jude: Nicola Chegwin
Francis: Emery Hunter
Crew
Director: Robert Softley Gale
Writer: Rob Drummond
Creative Producer: Mairi Taylor
Producer: Michelle Rolfe
Set & Costume Designer: Kenneth MacLeod
Lighting Designer & Production Manager: Louise Gregory
Composer: Scott Twynholm
Audio Visual Designer: Jamie MacDonald
Technician: Rosie Ward
Assistant Stage Manager & Costume Supervisor: Giulia Pizziol
Stage Manager: Catherine Idle
Associate Artist: Zephyr Liddell
Movement Consultant: Kirsty Biff Nicolson
Fight Consultant: Carter Ferguson
SFX Makeup Consultant: Cal MacDonald
Personal Assistant: Caroline Knowles
Personal Assistant: Ella Bowsher
Filmmaker: Colin Purves
BSL Script Interpreter: Clare Canton
Audio Description Consultant: Alyson Woodhouse
BSL Consultant: Amy Murray
Captioning Consultant: Ann Thallon
Press & Marketing Support: Sharon McHendry
Photography: Andy Catlin
Marketing Design: Greenlight Creative
Trailer: airship23.com
HAVING A LAUGH
I’m not the first to say that disability benefits assessments aren’t the obvious subject for a new comedy. Even the mention of a new PIP assessment raises the anxiety levels of many disabled people. But at Birds of Paradise we aren’t ones to shy away from doing the less-than-obvious, so when playwright Rob Drummond approached us with this idea for a dark comedy about the absurd nature of our benefits system, we said yes quickly.
ROBERT SOFTLEY GALE
Read the full article on the Big Issue
Yes!
Last April I was part of BOP’s #benefitsdebate with Minister Ben Macpherson, Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP, Jeremy Balfour MSP and Bill Scott from Inclusion Scotland, talking about the themes around disability benefits that this play would be covering. My involvement in the debate was remote for my safety but this week I was able to attend a dress rehearsal at the theatre - a practice run of the play but also the dedicated mask-wearers performance BOP is holding. It was wonderful to be back in a theatre - and to feel safe being there. After seeing this production anyone who's been through a PIP assessment will be shouting yes yes YES!!!
BOP has invited me to write a reflection on the play - watch this space! As a company they know that not everyone is able to get to the theatre and the performance I attended was also being filmed to be made available later in October. Their commitment to access provision will require the edit of the film to embed captions and BSL interpretation just as the show does. Again, watch this space!
DR SALLY WITCHER
Sally is a freelance consultant whose former roles range through, Chair of the Scottish Commission on Social Security, CEO of Inclusion Scotland and Child Poverty Action Group and senior civil servant in DWP. Sally is a recipient of PIP.
BREW!
Head to the Traverse bar to meet textile artist and Don't.Make.Tea. Associate Artist Zephyr Liddell. Through her project Brew: Crafting Responses to the Disability Benefits System you are invited to work with others to create a new poetry anthology and collaborative textile work using dyes made of spilt tea.
ABOUT Birds of paradise
Artistic Director: Robert Softley Gale
Executive Director: Mairi Taylor
Producer: Michelle Rolfe
Engagement & Office Manager: Callum Madge
Development Officer: Morna McGeoch
Established in 1993, Birds of Paradise’s vision is of a culture in which disabled people are recognised for the excellence of their work, celebrated for the stories they bring to the stage and are a vital part of the artistic landscape of Scotland. BOP makes theatre that challenges attitudes, provokes new creative approaches, and designs access into every production to maximise who can enjoy our work. BOP also provides strategic support to other organisations through Disability Equality Training, and development opportunities for the next generation of disabled artists.
To find out more visit
www.boptheatre.co.uk
donate to Birds of paradise
Birds of Paradise is a charity with a national focus that has been telling disabled people’s stories since 1992.
Your donations help us to:
Produce world-class productions and projects created with disabled artists, that put disabled people’s stories centre stage.
Provide training and development opportunities, removing barriers to professional progression and nurturing future generations of disabled artists.
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