Policies & Practices
The concepts and principles that underpin our work
Below we’ve listed a range of company policies that have been developed and signed off by our Board as well as some general policy statements
BOP Policy Documents
What does BOP mean when it uses the term “disabled”?
BOP uses the term ‘disabled people’ or ‘disabled artists’ to refer to anyone who self-identifies as disabled. This can include D/deaf people if they identify as disabled as well as others living with impairments (physical, sensory, learning, cognitive, mental health, etc) that identify as disabled. BOP uses the Social Model of Disability and recognises that some people experience disabling barriers.
Some D/deaf people may not identify as disabled. BOP recognise that three predominant terms are used with regards to deafness – ‘Deaf’, ‘deaf’ and ‘D/deaf’. To be deaf (small d) means you have a hearing loss but you do not identify as part of the Deaf Community. Generally deaf people use oral communication. They may have some knowledge of SSE (sign supported English) but this does not make them culturally deaf.
Deaf – with a capital “D” – is used to refer to people who are culturally Deaf. These people actively use British Sign Language or Scottish Sign Language; they see themselves as being culturally Deaf and part of the Deaf community.
D/deaf is used to refer to both groups of people and on occasion we will use this distinctly from disabled. However, in most of our work when we use the term disabled we are also thinking about D/deaf people.
Non-disabled is the antonym of disabled and as such BOP never uses ‘able-bodied’, which is a term that ignores the fact that many disabled people face barriers that do not relate to their bodies.
(source: BBC Ouch)
Being Neurodivergent means your mental, cognitive or neurological function differs from what is currently considered typical or ‘normal’. This can include – but is not limited to – Autistic people, Sensory Processing Conditions, Learning Disabilities, Tourette’s Syndrome, ADHD, OCD and other complex mental health conditions such as Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, or Generalised Anxiety Disorder. Some Neurodivergent people may not identify as being disabled.
A note on casting
BOP was established in 1993, in part to increase training and professional opportunities for disabled actors, and to address a lack of these opportunities in the sector at that point. Nearly 30 years on, the arts sector in Scotland and beyond has become more diverse with increased opportunities for disabled people to train in the arts, to tell their own stories and to see authentic representations of their lives on stage and screen – performed by disabled people. However, many barriers persist and there remains a role for BOP to work in dismantling and challenging these barriers through our work. We know this to be true because we encounter barriers in finding the talent we want to work with due to a lack of people coming through traditional training routes.
BOP cast differently for each production. Often in the development stages of our work, we know who we want to work with and build work around them. For instance, Wendy Hoose (2014/16) was written with Amy Conachan in mind and Purposeless Movements (2016/19) was developed with a cast of men who shared the same impairment. At other times we may cast for a character in a more traditional way, seeking to find the best performer for a given role. This may mean that we work with disabled actors because they have the most resonant impairment or experience for a given character For instance, Don’t. Make. Tea. (2022) tells the story of Chris who has a very specific medical condition. Her character developed as part of a long process of consultation and research with disabled people and while it would not be possible to cast an actor with exactly the same condition as Chris, we were able to focus on finding the best actor with direct lived experience to portray her.
What we do avoid is casting non-disabled actors to represent disabled characters – except where this is a creative choice! In 2018/2019 we examined ‘cripping up’ through My Left / Right Foot – The Musical.
Fair Work commitment
Birds Of Paradise Theatre Company is committed to Fair Work practices as outlined by the Scottish Government but also as understood by us as a charity committed to fair and accessible working practices that in particular support the progression of disabled people in the arts and culture.
BOP is an accredited Fair Work Employer and works closely with Equity and partners such as PiPA. Everyone who works with BOP – in any capacity – is asked to complete an Access Requirements form to help us determine how we can best meet their needs and remove any barriers they might face. This form is the basis of our ongoing working relationship with that individual and how we will support them.
We know that support is often needed to access existing resources such as Access 2 Work – the government scheme to provide financial support for barrier removal. We often instigate and assist with applications for core staff members as well as the eligible freelancers who work with us.
BOP THEATRE is the area of activity in which we employ the greatest number of people on freelance contracts and to work intensively over a short period of time on productions. To this end it is essential that people enter the company on well paid, clear contracts with an understanding of how the company will work with, value and respect them in their role. Our company handbook indicates who to speak to about various concerns, lists that production’s union rep, etc. We ensure that people we work with have the ability to speak individually and collectively, and to be heard, in open, safe and constructive dialogue.
BOP DEVELOPMENT and BOP STRATEGIC are other areas where we work a great deal with freelance artists, trainers and educators on short term contracts and we ensure that they are paid established rates and have a clear understanding of expectations within their roles. We avoid volunteer positions – even if a position is a development opportunity it needs to be paid appropriately. We understand that people face work insecurity and we strive to model and provide paid opportunities in the sector for disabled people. This contributes towards systemic change in creating a more disability-confident cultural sector and these public benefits are further amplified if employing disabled people within cultural organisations becomes normalised.
Equality Action Plan
Our Equality Action Plan focuses on artistic development, outreach, marketing, and HR to enhance diversity and inclusion.
| Artistic Development | Offer one open commission for a female-identifying artist to create a new piece of work |
| Outreach & Development | Identify one partner organisation to deliver an opportunity for a disabled artist of colour. To happen in 23/24 |
| Marketing & Comms | Create calendar of EDI/theatre/arts days – International day of disabled people, etc Create contact database of diverse (disabled and other groups) service providers – SLIs, graphic designers, etc |
| HR & Governance | Research where other orgs have a Menstruation and Menopause policy – find examples Work with PIPA to identify ways of adapting freelance job offers to make them more family-friendly. |
Please click on the links below to download our annual action plans. We’ve written these documents to tell you what we’re doing to improve our work for all equalities groups.