BOP Turns 30!
Over the coming year, Birds of Paradise Theatre Company is celebrating 30 years as Scotland’s disability-led professional theatre company. From touring world-class theatre around Scotland and as far as Japan, developing artists through projects such as BOP Young Artists and BOP Writers, to strategically supporting organisations and artists in Rwanda, Mexico, and Nepal, we hope to build on our work for another three decades and beyond.
As we celebrate our achievements to date, we are also looking to the future and how we can continue to have a positive impact on the arts sector around us—from the individual artists and practitioners through to the companies and organisations that create the cultural landscape of Scotland. We have seen incredible progress in disability equality and access in the arts over the last 30 years and we are excited to work in a sector that embraces diversity not only in the work being made but also how it is made and who is involved.
As we celebrate our 30th year, we are launching a series of events and opportunities to pay it forward. We hope that these opportunities will lead to further positive change for those around us. At a time when the creative landscape is tough, we want to offer what we can with the resources we have.
Some of these events and opportunities are being hosted in partnership with other organisations, while other are purely BOP initiatives.
Click on the links below to jump to specific sections of this page
Upcoming events
Spring 2024: Don’t. Make. Tea. UK tour
Find out more and book tickets for our 2024 tour here!
This riveting new dark comedy from Rob Drummond “brings a laser-like focus to the current plight of disabled people in Britain” Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman–★★★★
Another bloody serious comedy from BOP, makers of the hilarious, award-winning, My Left Right Foot – The Musical.
The near future. Chris never wanted to end up here. She’s a proud woman and hates asking for help but when her condition deteriorated she had no choice but to claim benefits. Ralph believes in the new system. He knows it can work for Chris. He’s here today, in her home, to assess her, to prove she is fit and capable of working. Can Chris persuade him to change his mind? And, if not, how far is she willing to go to save herself?
Age recommendation: 14+
Warning: Contains suicide references and violence.
All performances are captioned and have creatively embedded BSL interpretation, with audio description integrated into the script.
27 March 2024: Locked World Part II Launch Event
Join BOP online to celebrate the release of the 2nd instalment of our access-centred digital arts platform: Locked World. (Event will be live captioned and sign language interpreted – more information below).
Visit Locked World here to check out the artworks released in the 1st instalment, including an experimental essay by Sandra Alland, an audiovisual piece by Rylan Gleave, and a poetic dance film by Georgia Holman.
Event details:
Tuesday 27th February 2024
Zoom
6:30pm–8pm
Free but ticketed
Click here for event page and registration! Please contact morna@boptheatre.co.uk with any questions.
7 March 2024: Disability Equality Training for FST Members
In March 2024, the BOP training team will be running a Disability Equality Training session for Federation of Scottish Theatre members.
Our Disability Equality Training package has been developed over ten years, and covers information on stereotypes, models of disability, language, legislation and more. It is delivered by our team of disabled trainers.
Event details:
Thursday 7th March 2024
Zoom
2pm–4pm
Free to attend
Click here for event page and registration! Please contact michelle@boptheatre.co.uk with any questions.
BOPportunities
Over the coming year, we will be offering opportunities for individuals and organisations in the arts sector in Scotland. More opportunities will be added throughout the year—stay in touch via our socials or newsletter, or check back regularly to make sure you don’t miss out!
The Board Game
For our first offer, we are “starting at the top” to support the diversity of governance groups in Scotland, with a focus on board development.
We are working with our Chair, Miles Harrison, to develop a two-part development and support offer for existing boards seeking to develop their practice and for individuals interested in becoming board members. More details to come soon.
Disabled Playwright Support Programme
We’re thrilled to be partnering with Playwrights’ Studio Scotland to bring back our Disabled Playwright Support Programme for 2024. This programme is a professional development opportunity for a disabled* playwright living in Scotland, with a commitment to writing for theatre.
A career in the arts is not straightforward for anyone: we recognise, though, that disabled artists face an increased number of barriers, from starting out to working professionally. This programme offers a disabled playwright bespoke support, providing artistic development, financial support, skills sessions, and opportunities to widen their creative community.
Applications for this opportunity have now closed.
How can I get involved?
To register for any of the events and opportunities listed on this page, follow the links in the relevant sections.
To stay up to date with our 30th year celebrations, you can sign up to our newsletter at the bottom of this page, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. We will also post updates on this page.
If you or your organisation is interested in partnering with us on an event, please get in touch at all@boptheatre.co.uk.
Past events
28 & 29 November 2023: BOP Writers Industry Sharing
The BOP Writers programme consists of three collective spaces in which disabled* playwrights can come together to share their work in a supportive group setting. The sessions are facillitated by autistic playwright Nelly Kelly.
Across two nights in November 2023, BOP hosted an industry-focused sharing of short works by the 2023 BOP Writers.
23 November 2023: Introduction to Access Statements
Access Statements (sometimes referred to as Access Riders) are a key tool used by Birds of Paradise Theatre Company to help create accessible environments within their production and project teams.
This professional development session was presented by BOP in partnership with Federation of Scottish Theatre.
14 November 2023: Locked World Launch Event
Back in 2020, in the midst of national lockdown across the UK, a group of disabled young artists in Scotland organised a digital pivot of their live production ‘Locked World’ and came up with the idea of a digital disabled-centred arts platform.
An arts platform which centres disabled experience as opposed to hiding it away. A digital space which centres accessibility, as opposed to hiding it away in the back-end of a website.
In November 2023, BOP and the numerous disabled artists who contributed to the instigation, development, and overall existence of Locked World came together for a jam-packed hour of celebrating and exploring digital accessibility, creatively embedded access in digital artworks, and why digital access is still important beyond national lockdowns.
Please contact morna@boptheatre.co.uk with any questions about the Locked World project.
5 October 2023: Working with Access Personal Assistants
Many disabled artists benefit from working with a personal assistant (PA). We worked with Creative Scotland to host an event where attendees heard from 3 different artists and their PAs about how they work together. We also discussed how this kind of PA support can be funded through Access to Work.
19 September 2023: CRIPtic Arts & Birds of Paradise Post-Fringe Networking Event
This bespoke event, run in collaboration with CRIPtic Arts, offered a relaxed networking space after the chaos of the festival season. Artists were able to connect, learn about each other’s practice, and discuss the unique experiences of disabled artists in the Fringe context.
18 August 2023: How Do You “Relax” the Fringe?
Following on from BOPs seminal research report, House Lights Up!, this event brought artists together to discuss questions around producing relaxed performance at the Fringe, using the research report to investigate how neurodivergent audiences in Scotland could be better served by relaxed performances.
10 August 2023: Fringe 2023 Disabled Artists Meet-Up
Networking event for disabled artists at the Fringe 2023, hosted by Birds of Paradise Theatre Company. This event offered a relaxed opportunity to catch up with other artists and companies in Edinburgh during August.
28 April–5 May 2023: Orbits at Fruitmarket
Orbits is a new film work presented by Birds of Paradise Theatre Company and featuring Portuguese dancer Diana Niepce. Orbits is a film about how we feel and what we experience when we lose something we have been in orbit or relationship with. How does this change affect our experience of ourselves?
Orbits began as a collaboration between the artists in early 2021 and was filmed by Hugo Glendinning in Lisbon, December 2022. It was presented as an installation in Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket Warehouse in April and May 2023. Click here for more information about Orbits.
