In an interview with Casey Bailey, we find out more about the former Birmingham Poet Laureate, and his play Please Do Not Touch, ahead of its UK tour in 2026.
Can you introduce yourself?
What’s good! My name’s Casey Bailey, I’m a writer, a teacher and a performer from Nechells, but most importantly I’m a person who believes in people and fairness, so everything I do gravitates around that!!
Can you tell us a bit about the Please Do Not Touch poetry collection which has been the inspiration / springboard for the play to evolve from?
I started writing the collection when I was visiting heritage houses after my son was born because we wanted him to see things we hadn’t, but I became very conscious that I would see ‘please do not touch’ signs sitting on artefacts that never should have been touched in the first place, and it sparked something in me. In the process of writing the collection, Roger Robinson gave me feedback on grounding the work in everyday experience; writing the play feels like an extension of that.
What research do you do as a writer, particularly when adapting your poetry into a theatre script? Who do you work with?
The actual theatre making – I have worked with Yaël, Gail, Corey, Keiren, on how you shape a piece of theatre. I’m still adjusting to the way a story is told through many ways other than writing, the influence of the director/movement director and the questions opened up by the dramaturg are pivotal to the piece’s creation.
Colonial research – in heritage houses and further investigation into the specifics around and the impacts of colonialism.
Prison research – this story centres on a boy who finds himself in prison, going into prisons was an essential part of the creation of the story and the part that I took the most from.
What would be your top tip for getting into writing? Whether that’s poetry or theatre…
I only have two top tips for getting into writing, they are simple, but they come down to this. Whether that’s poetry or theatre…
- Read. Read everything
- Write! The reality is we get better at anything by doing it
So read and learn and write and practice.
What can audiences expect from Please Do Not Touch?
They can expect a human story of someone who is living under the pressure of a system that is not built to serve them.
Having seen the transition of the show from the page to the stage at Belgrade Theatre last year, I am really excited about what the next step of this journey looks like. We will be revisiting writing and creative decisions that were made, to push the story even further and can’t wait to engage with a new and a returning audience to see how the piece lands with them.
What are you hoping audience’s takeaway from seeing Please Do Not Touch?
What I want people to take away from Please Do Not Touch is that we should question everything that we see, lots of things are given to us in a narrative that works for the people who are giving it to us but that isn’t always the full story, so what I want people to take away is to always ask questions, even ask questions of the story that I’m telling you and make sure that you get a full and honest picture for yourself.
If you could describe the show in three words, what would they be?
Challenging, thought-provoking, human.
Please Do Not Touch opens at Birmingham Hippodrome on 29th January 2026, before heading out on tour in the UK until 13th March. For more information and the full tour schedule, please visit the show page.
To purchase a copy of the Please Do Not Touch poetry collection, please visit Casey’s website – published by Burning Eye in 2021.