About Us
Birds of Paradise Theatre Company (BOP) is Scotland’s preeminent pioneering disability-led theatre company and a force for change.
BOP has 30 years of experience and knowledge, offering trailblazing career opportunities for disabled people in the arts, making game-changing theatre and undertaking strategic work that has left Scotland more diverse and accessible than it was three decades ago. We continue to be a challenge to the status quo – confronting the absence and exclusion of disabled people from theatre, culture and many areas of society by placing their stories on our stages.
Birds of Paradise Theatre Company has altered how the Scottish theatre industry views disability and how it thinks about access in Scotland.
“The consistent thing they have always been known for is being agents for change. They are about changing the status quo.”
You can read the below document for the full story about how BOP was formed.
If you have any further questions about BOP, why not visit our FAQs.
What is BOP?
Birds of Paradise Theatre Company is a small-scale organisation with an immense impact. With 30 years’ experience of impacting on disability equality and justice in theatre and culture, BOP is responsible for innovative cultural output and is a fulcrum for sector development in Scotland and beyond. We are now an established key partner and ally to others nationally and internationally.
BOP Theatre
World class theatre – new stories about disability; disabled creatives centre-stage; innovative creative access
- New productions/co-productions with key partners
- Tours and retours
- Pioneering Creative Access
- Development of digital work
- Wraparound activity
- Audience development
- New opportunities for disabled professionals
BOP Development
- BOP Artists – discovering and developing new artists – actors, directors, writers
- BOP Young Artists – Providing development opportunities for young disabled people
- Online resources
BOP Strategic
- Training and consultation – our expertise purchased by others
- Proactive events – offered to the sector through training and sessions where we or partners identify need
- Partnerships – across the sector
- Access Scottish Theatre guide
Our Vision
Our Mission
Partners
BOP is a PiPA (Parents and Carers in Performing Arts) Charter Partner, striving towards creating a more family friendly working environment.
PiPA campaigns to enable and empower parents, carers and employers to achieve sustainable change in attitudes and practices in order to attract, support and retain a more diverse and flexible workforce. We are always happy to discuss solutions that allow people to balance their caring responsibilities with their working lives, for example through job shares or flexible working arrangements as appropriate.
BOP is a member of the Green Arts Initiative
BOP takes an active part in working with the initiative to reduce it’s own carbon footprint, and that of the sector as a whole.
BOP has signed up to a pledge that committs us to the following:
Our Board will take steps to measure the diversity of the Board, senior leadership, staff, volunteers and service users by all relevant protected characteristics.
Our Board will identify what it can do to achieve fair representation from underrepresented groups at Board, senior leadership, staff, and volunteer levels. We will set targets and take action for improvement.
Our organisation will tackle barriers which might prevent some groups of people from accessing our services.
