Theatre company to bring 'very funny' new play to Glasgow

Written by Rob Drummond, the play is a witty ridiculing of the welfare state and explores a futuristic benefits regime through the assessment of Chris as she is forced to claim benefits.

The show, which will be at Tron Theatre from Thursday, confronts the lengths disabled people must go to in order to preserve themselves in an unjust system.

Robert Softley Gale, artistic director at BOP, says the play is a “very funny” depiction of how society deals with the welfare system.

He said: “When you first hear that you think ‘oh god, there’s nothing more depressing than talking about the benefits system’ but I knew the way we approached it as a company would work.

“[In the play] Chris is gradually getting more and more disabled and has to be reassessed [for benefits] but it’s about 10 years in the future and things are a little bit better … or are they?

“The guy comes to assess her; he wants to get her back into work but ultimately things go horribly wrong, and Chris has to deal with the consequences.

“What you get is a very funny play about how we deal with these situations and how the welfare state operates.”

Robert Softley-Gale (Image: Supplied)

Robert says while the audience will “get a good laugh”, he also hopes it will make them think about what they could do to make the benefits system better.  

He added: “I think a Glasgow audience will respond to it very well and enjoy some of the darkness in there because Glasgow people [are good at] laughing at very dark things.”

The Don’t. Make. Tea. tour marks BOP’s 30th anniversary after the company became a registered charity in 1993, becoming Scotland’s first touring theatre company employing disabled and non-disabled actors.

Robert says it’s “really exciting” to be celebrating such a significant milestone.  

He said: “For any small theatre company to be going for this amount of time is a testament to the value we bring to Scottish theatre and to the cultural landscape.

“It shows we’re respected for what we do.”

Robert first joined the company in 2003 as an actor for a production called The Irish Giant, about a man who was very tall and part of a freakshow in the 1800s, before coming back in 2005 to do some project work helping mainstream companies work out why there weren’t more disabled people in Scottish theatre.

He came back as one of two artistic directors in 2012.

Robert says he wanted to join the company because the voice of disabled people “isn’t really there” in Scottish culture.

He explained: “Disabled people make up 20% of the population, yet you don’t see many stories about disabled people on TV or in film, or on stage.

“So, it’s important to me companies like this exist who tell those stories to give people another perspective on the world.

“I think a lot of the discrimination disabled people experience is because people don’t know what it’s like to be disabled.

“By putting on productions that share those experiences, it can help overcome some of that ignorance.”

Robert says he believes a key part of BOP's success is that its shows “give people a good laugh” while being accessible to everyone.

He added: “We work really hard to make our work accessible.

“Every production has got British sign language integrated into the production, it’s got captions so people who are hard of hearing can follow along, so we make a lot of effort to include as many audience members as we can.

“I think that does something really special.”

Don’t. Make. Tea. will be at the Tron Theatre from Thursday, April 11 until Saturday, April 13.