Friday, November 15

Tag: Don’t. Make. Tea.

Don’t. Make. Tea. – Traverse Theatre
Scotland

Don’t. Make. Tea. – Traverse Theatre

In a near future in which government attitudes to disability have supposedly been revolutionised, Chris (Gillian Dean), a former police detective now facing a deteriorating condition, receives a visit from Ralph (Neil John Gibson) to “check” whether she is indeed entitled to benefits. But their competing agendas are clearly mutually exclusive: if displays and white lies are not enough, then how far must Chris go to get what she needs? A dark comedy written by Rob Drummond and directed by Robert Softley Gale, Don't. Make. Tea. tackles many of the issues of current attitudes towards disability. As with many stories set in the future, the applicability is clearly in the here and now rather than the impossible. Many of Ralph's slogans, repetitions and little tricks clearly struck a chord...
Don’t. Make. Tea. – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
Scotland

Don’t. Make. Tea. – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

It is a rainy night in Edinburgh. I expect to find a car parking place easily, but to my horror find the streets jammed, there is a rock concert on next door. I park three streets away and jog towards the venue. 3 minutes to spare. If I was disabled, I would be in a right pickle. Appropriate, given that the show tonight is from BOP, a leading force of disability led theatre in Scotland. Established in Glasgow in 1993, Birds of Paradise (BOP) Theatre Company became Scotland’s first touring theatre company employing disabled and non-disabled actors. The remit of the company has always been to produce accessible theatre and to highlight the challenges faced by the disabled community.   I am delighted to see that the 250-seater theatre is near capacity and the demographic is refresh...