Please Do Not Touch at Leeds Playhouse

Please Do Not Touch, a one-man show at Leeds Playhouse. This emotional and original performance follows Mason, a young social justice TikToker seeking to expose the hidden histories and true stories behind the artefacts in our museum cases and heritage houses. 

Mason’s mission is simple, at first. He sets out to confront the stories behind dusty objects and reveal how colonial power has reworked and reshaped them for polite society. Following an incident with a Somali Afro comb, Mason’s activism takes a turn, becoming something far more personal. He is arrested, charged and locked up for a crime he did not commit. 

The show is an extension of Casey Bailey’s acclaimed poetry collection of the same name, and the language used reflects this. Dialogue is rhythmic, pulsing on a non-apparent beat throughout the performance. The story is pulled forward by Mason’s expressive inner monologue. His words are urgent, sharp and unwavering in his critique of myths about heritage, ownership and freedom of speech. 

With the audience posing as observers, Mason uses poetry and present reflection to survive his new environment. Being imprisoned compels him to come face to face with the very forces he once challenged from the outside. The result of this of course is theatre that feels both intimate and yet intrusive. 

As the narrative unfolds, Mason and the audience are confronted with the weight of contested artefacts, the justice system and the vulnerability of youth when the world they grow up in has been meticulously designed by institutions rather than found. 

Directed by Gail Babb, Please Do Not Touch tackles this complex theme by letting Mason’s voice carry both the most provoking and the most tender moments of the show. This performance asks audiences not to just witness a story, but to think about what it means to document our shared history and protect it, to tell the truth about the past.