Birds of Paradise Theatre Company

Scotland's touring theatre company promoting disabled artists and supporting the arts sector

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Don't. Make. Tea. still (c) Andy Catlin 2024

Productions â–ş  

Don’t. Make. Tea.

2022 & 2024

Don’t. Make. Tea. is a dark comedy by award-winning playwright Rob Drummond.

A witty ridiculing of the welfare state, the show explores a futuristic benefits regime through the assessment of Chris as she is forced to claim benefits. With bitingly satirical dialogue, and cutting-edge accessible staging interwoven through the show, Don’t. Make. Tea. confronts the lengths disabled people must go to in order to preserve themselves in an unjust system.

Don’t. Make. Tea. was first performed at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre in 2022. The show was remounted for a UK tour in 2024 in celebration of BOP’s 30th anniversary.

Written by Rob Drummond
Directed by Robert Softley Gale

Headshot of Dr Sally Witcher. A white woman in her late 40s or so. She wears a blue wool jumper and an orange headband over short-ish light brown / grey hair. She is looking warmly into the camera.
Blog

Accessible Britain? Careful what you wish for!

A response to Don’t. Make. Tea. by Dr Sally Witcher.

Photo of a stage from right at the back of the seating bank. It's dark with five people seated in a curve on the stage. Also in place is a large tv screen, for one person who could not attend in person. An even larger screen behind the people displays captions and a BSL interpreter.
Project

Don’t. Make. Tea. Benefits Debate

A debate on disabled people’s experiences with the benefits system was held in April 2022, featuring key panellists discussing societal attitudes and the new Adult Disability Payment in Scotland.

An image from the Brew anthology showing text cut from printed documents laid on top of a piece of naturally dyed fabric. The text reads, "Can you read and understand signs, symbols and words?"
Project

Brew: Crafting Responses to the Disability Benefits System

Zephyr Liddell, Associate Artist, responds to the themes of Don’t. Make. Tea.

Promotional banner image for Don't. Make. Tea. Action shot of a blonde woman striking a smartly dressed young man hard across the face with a crutch. White text reads "Don't. Make. Tea. Another bloody serious comedy from BOP. Disability benefits can be an absolute killer."

The Team

Gillian Dean – Chris
Aidan Scott – Ralph
Neil John Gibson – Able
Emery Hunter – Frances
Nicola Chegwin – Jude
Gillian Dean – Chris
Neil John Gibson – Ralph
Richard Conlon – Able
Emery Hunter – Frances
Nicola Chegwin – Jude
Robert Softley Gale – Director
Robert Softley Gale – Artistic Director

Access

In BOP’s signature style of creatively integrated access, all shows featured audio description, BSL interpretation and captioning woven into the text of the production. Within the near-future setting of Don’t. Make. Tea., the high-tech access devices used by the main character Chris also provided access to the audience, as well as becoming characters in their own right over the course of the show.

You can find out more about how we approached access in Don’t. Make. Tea. by looking through the access section of the show archive, linked at the bottom of this page.

Two people standing side by side, staring straight ahead with blank expressions. On the left is a young woman with dark curly hair and wearing a purple jumpsuit. On the right is a middle aged man in a mint green suit.
Emery Hunter as Frances and Richard Conlon as Able provided integrated BSL interpretation and audio description for the show.

Tour Dates

5 – 8 October 2022
Traverse Theatre

IO Cambridge Street, Edinburgh EHI 2ED

21 – 22 March 2024
Traverse Theatre

IO Cambridge Street, Edinburgh EHI 2ED

Venue Access Info Book Now
26 March – 6 April 2024
Soho Theatre

21 Dean Street, London WID 3NE

Venue Access Info Book Now
9 April 2024
The Gaiety Theatre

63 Trongate, Glasgow GI 5HB
Venue access video

Book Now
11 – 13 April 2023
Tron Theatre
16 April 2024
Lanternhouse, Cumbernauld
19 April 2024
Ffwrnes

In the Media

“laugh-out-loud comedy, psychological thriller, and deep conversation on the disabled experience of the state”
WJQuinn, The Quinntessential Review
“brings a laser-like focus to the current plight of disabled people in Britain”
Joyce McMillanJhe Scotsman
” laced with dark humour and some genuine surprises. Cleverly crafted to be accessible to the widest possible audience, it’s an exciting slice of contemporary theatre.”
Phillip Caveney. Bouquets & Brickbats

Photos and Videos

  • A blonde woman stretches her legs and back by leaning on a dining table. Two mint green forearm crutches are balanced against the table next to her.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2024 (www.andycatlin.com)
  • A blonde woman and a dark-haired man on a couch. The woman is holding the man's hands and pleading with him. The man is facing away from the camera. His shirt and the side of his head are covered in blood.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2024 (www.andycatlin.com)
  • A blonde woman and a man wearing a lanyard sit on a red sofa. The woman is turning away from the man with an expression of distress, while the man attempts to reason with her.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2024 (www.andycatlin.com)
  • A young woman with dark curly hair and wearing a purple jumpsuit uses BSL. She is illuminated by an unnatural green light and pointing at something out of frame.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2024 (www.andycatlin.com)
  • A man with short dark hair and a dark beard, wearing a checked shirt and a lanyard, stares blankly towards the camera. He is illuminated by an unnatural red light.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2024 (www.andycatlin.com)
  • Two people standing side by side, staring straight ahead with blank expressions. On the left is a young woman with dark curly hair and wearing a purple jumpsuit. On the right is a middle aged man in a mint green suit.
    Emery Hunter as Frances and Richard Conlon as Able provided integrated BSL interpretation and audio description for the show.
  • A blonde woman strangles a dark-haired man on the floor of a living room. She has an expression of anguish as he struggles.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2024 (www.andycatlin.com)
  • A dark-haired man with a short beard holds a tea towel to the side of his head as he speaks emphatically. The tea towel and his shirt are both stained with blood.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2024 (www.andycatlin.com)
  • A dark-haired man in a mint green suit sits at a dining table with his head against the table. A spray bottle of bleach and a potted plant sit next to him.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2022 (www.andycatlin.com)
  • A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and a middle-aged man in a mint green suit face each other. Both are yelling and their faces are nearly touching. They are illuminated by an unnatural teal light.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2024 (www.andycatlin.com)
  • A blonde woman wearing a shiny top and sitting in a wheelchair spreads her arms wide as she speaks.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2024 (www.andycatlin.com)
  • A woman with a blonde ponytail and wearing a shiny top leans on the arm of a sofa, looking serene. A woman with shoulder-length hair is sitting on the floor against the sofa, speaking to the first woman without looking at her.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2024 (www.andycatlin.com)
  • A neatly dressed man lies unresponsive on the floor of a living room set. A blonde woman is sitting next to him and squinting at a cellphone in her hand. A man in a mint suit and a woman in a purple jumpsuit look horrified in the background.
    Photographer – Andy Catlin, 2024 (www.andycatlin.com)
Trailer for the 2024 UK tour of Don’t. Make. Tea.

Special Events

During the tour, we staged some special events, which you can read about below.

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Production Story

Don’t. Make. Tea. was first performed at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre in 2022. The show was remounted and updated for a 2024 UK tour in celebration of BOP’s 30th anniversary.

Both productions were accompanied by events and projects that encouraged audiences to engage in different ways with the themes of the show. Online and in-person discussion events supported by Graeae Theatre, Disabled People Against Cuts and the Disability Benefits Consortium held space for debate and strategic discussion. Meanwhile, Associate Artist Zephyr Liddell facilitated BREW, a collaborative art project using found poetry and natural textile dyeing.

The Don’t. Make. Tea. archive page is currently under construction. You will be able to find out more about the show, including interviews, media and production information, by visiting this page when it goes live.

Thank yous

Since 2019, many people have contributed to the making of this show. We would like to thank them all starting with the people that Rob interviewed in the early stages as well as the two development casts.

Thank you to everyone that contributed to BOP’s Benefits Debate in April 2022. Additional thanks to Jess at the National Theatre of Scotland and Arion at Scottish Opera, Blue Parrot, Big House. 

Finally, thank you to everyone at the Traverse and all venues on the 2024 tour for making us feel at home.

Team from all page – don’t delete until all transfered

The Team

[toggle title_open=”Creative Team” title_closed=”Creative Team”]

Director Robert Softley Gale
Writer Rob Drummond
Creative Producer Mairi Taylor
Set & Costume Designer Kenneth MacLeod
Lighting Designer Louise Gregory (2022); Grant Anderson (2024)
Production Manager Louise Gregory (2022); Niall Black (2024)
Audio Visual Designer Jamie MacDonald
Composer Scott Twynholm
Performer: Chris Gillian Dean
Performer: Able Neil John Gibson (2022); Richard Conlon (2024)
Performer: Ralph Aidan Scott (2022); Neil John Gibson (2024)
Performer: Jude Nicola Chegwin
Performer: Francis Emery Hunter
Movement Consultant Kirsty Biff Nicolson
Fight Consultant Carter Ferguson
SFX Make Up Consultant Cal MacDonald
Associate Artist Zephyr Liddell (2022)
Associate Artist’s Assistant Martha Williams (2022)

[/toggle]

[toggle title_open=”Production Team 2022″ title_closed=”Production Team 2022″]

Producer Michelle Rolfe
Associate Production Manager Finley Dickens
Technician Rosie Ward
Assistant Stage Manager & Costume Supervisor Giulia Pizziol
Stage Manager Catherine Idle
Personal Assistant Caroline Knowles
Personal Assistant Ella Bowsher
Filmmaker Colin Purves
BSL Script Interpreter Clare Canton
Sign Language Interpreter Production Support Yvonne Strain
BSL Consultant Amy Murray
Audio Description Consultant Alyson Woodhouse
Captioning Consultant Ann Thallon
Press & Marketing Support Sharon McHendry
Marketing Design Greenlight Creative
Photography Andy Catlin
Trailer airship23.com

[/toggle]

[toggle title_open=”Production Team 2024″ title_closed=”Production Team 2024″]

Producer Michelle Rolfe
Assistant Producer Anne Kjaer
Technical Manager Finley Dickens
Lighting Technician Josh Brown
Wardrobe Manager Catriona Charlton
Stage Manager Alison Brodie
Company Stage Manager Babette Wickham-Riddick
Deputy Stage Manager Emma Skaer
Assistant Stage Manager Giulia Pizziol
Personal Assistants Caroline Knowles, Ella Bowsher
Filmmaker Colin Purves
Press & Marketing Support Chloe Nelkin Consulting
Marketing Design Greenlight Creative
Photography Andy Catlin
Trailer airship23.com

[/toggle]

[toggle title_open=”BOP Team” title_closed=”BOP Team”]

Artistic Director Robert Softley Gale
Executive Director Mairi Taylor
Producer Michelle Rolfe
Engagement & Office Manager Callum Madge (2022)
Administration & Comms Manager Kerry Lane (2024)
Development Officer Morna McGeoch

[/toggle]

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