Please Do Not Touch
“They will tell you that legal and illegal are the same as right and wrong. And I’ve told you that you only have to sit still for a moment and watch the pieces move to see what a lie that is.”
Mason is an activist who explores historic houses on TikTok to uncover the true stories behind the objects that lie within. After an incident with a Somali Afro comb, he is wrongly imprisoned in a Young Offender Institution. Can he find a way to survive this ordeal and navigate how to keep speaking up when everything is designed to silence him?
The show asks important questions about colonial legacy and contested heritage whilst shining a light on the criminal justice system.
Written by former Birmingham Poet Laureate Casey Bailey (GrimeBoy, Birmingham Rep) and directed by award-winning theatre maker, Gail Babb (Stars, Tamasha – OFFIE’S Best New Play 2024), Please Do Not Touch is a co-production between China Plate and Belgrade Theatre in association with Birmingham Hippodrome. Following a successful premiere and run in Coventry in 2024, Selorm Adonu will be stepping into the role of Mason for the remount and first national tour in Spring 2026.
Presented by A China Plate and Belgrade Theatre Co-Production in association with Birmingham Hippodrome
“Please Do Not Touch has a heart and a brain, it is thoughtfully written, sensitively performed and beautifully staged.”British Theatre Guide
Watch the trailer
Cast & Creatives
Actor | Selorm Adonu
Writer | Casey Bailey
Director | Gail Babb
Scenographer | Miriam Nabarro
Sound Designer | Kayodeine
Lighting Designer | Gillian Tan
Movement Director | Keiren Hamilton-Amos
Dramaturg | Yaël Shavit
Production Manager | Phil Clarke
Company Stage Manager | Emily Davies
Engagement Facilitator | Ayan Aden
Marketing Consultant | Spark Arts Marketing
Associate Producer (China Plate) | Jade Samuels
Executive Producer (China Plate) | Paul Warwick
*There is a £3.50 per order charge for all phone and online bookings (not applicable to Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival members)
**Stage timings are subject to change
