Birds Of Paradise Presents DON'T.MAKE.TEA. A New Commission From Disability-Led Theatre Company Traverse Theatre
A riveting, timely and 'bloody serious' dark comedy set in the near future, focusing on the benefits system, asking questions of how we provide for all in society.
Birds Of Paradise presents DON'T.MAKE.TEA. a new commission from Scotland's disability-led theatre company. Written by Rob Drummond (Bulletcatch, The Majority), directed by Robert Softley Gale (Purposeless Movements, My Left/Right Foot - the Musical) at Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh: Wednesday 5 - Saturday 8 October 2022 (BSL/CAP/AD all performances).
Set in the near future, Don't.Make.Tea imagines a world where the benefits system has undergone a transformation. Though it is for the better? The play follows Chris who is a proud woman and hates asking for help but when her condition deteriorates she has no choice but to claim disability benefits.
Ralph believes in the new benefits system. He's heretoday, in Chris' home, to assess her. To prove to her that she is fit and capable of working. Chris knows he is wrong. Knows her life will be over if his verdict stands. Can she persuade him to change his mind? And, if not, how far is she willing to go to save herself? If you are capable of killing and disposing of a body, can you really call yourself disabled?
Originally due to be staged in 2020, the play was postponed due to the pandemic but it is now a more ideal time than ever to stage the play with this year seeing the introduction of the Adult Disability Payment in Scotland. The play follows a debate event hosted by BOP on Friday 29th April that explored disabled people's experiences of the benefits system and attitudes that society constructs to support disabled people.
Mairi Taylor, Executive Director, Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, said: "BOP are excited to return to live theatre with a play that feels as urgent and relevant as it did in 2020 when it was originally due to be presented. If anything, our post-pandemic, cost of living crisis environment magnifies the need for us to debate how we provide for everyone in society. With changes to the benefit system for disabled people in Scotland a live topic, we are engaging directly in this debate - this is BOP's most overtly political work to date.
"BOP has worked for nearly 30 years to put the stories of disabled people on stage and to support the surrounding sector to become more accessible to artists and audiences alike. Working with a writer from the point of commissioning, we are able to create work that uniquely addresses access, ensuring that it is in the creative fabric of what we do and never an afterthought".
Robert Softley Gale, Artistic Director, Birds Of Paradise, and Director of Don't. Make. Tea, said: "When we first asked Rob Drummond to write a play about disability benefits back in 2019, we were really excited by the idea of tackling an important issue that impacts upon so many disabled people in the UK. We all know that the current benefits system doesn't work - and tweaking it to make it fairer to group x or y isn't going to fix it. What really interests me is that no perfect system exists - there are no easy answers, maybe no answers at all. I hope Don't.Make.Tea. can ask some big questions about how we value disabled people in society - and perhaps spark some conversations that can begin to make things better."
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