Articles ► Blog ►  

25th anniversary at the Scottish Parliament

On the 22nd of March 2018 we were very lucky to be able to celebrate our 25th anniversary in the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament, hosted by Patrick Harvie – leader of the Scottish Green Party. Guests invited to the event included Members of Scottish Parliament, people from the theatre industry, people from disability focused organisations and friends of the company.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“It’s good to see so many of you here this evening to celebrate Birds of Paradise’s long-standing work to advance disabled people’s equality and participation in theatre and the arts” – Fiona Hyslop MSP

As our host, Patrick gave a wonderful introduction and this was followed by a series of speeches and performances:

“Birds of Paradise continue to fight every day to get exceptional disabled actors centre stage, to tell their stories accurately and to tell them in a way that people actually want to hear them.” – Amy Conachan

Two women smile to the camera holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. Both women appear to be in their 30s, they are both white. One has long dark hair, while the other has short mousey brown hair.
Two women smile to the camera holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. Both women appear to be in their late 20s. Both are white, one has medium length blonde hair and the other has medium length dark hair.
A table with three round cakes on it, each with a letter, spelling out BOP. Robert, Mairi, Michelle and Callum cut into the chocolate cake with a B on it together. They are all dressed formally and are smiling and looking excited.
Two women performing some music. One woman stands at a keyboard and sings into a microphone, she has very long, dark wavy hair and she is wearing a dark shirt and trousers. The other woman, stands playing a guitar, she is wearing a blue checked dress with dark tights and short grey boots. Behind them there is a woman in a black suit who appears to be signing their song.
Robert talks in front of a wide, shiney set of stairs. He is sat in a wheelchair behind a small wooden podium that displays the Birds of Paradise logo. He has short brown hair and is wearing a smart shirt with a waistcoat. Behind him a woman appears to be interpreting. She is wearing a suit and has long blonde hair.
A photo taken from the top of a shiney set of stone stairs with shiney wooden bannisters, in a large well lit building. On either side of the stairs, there are large screens. We can see the backs of two women behind a podium, one woman has long light brown hair and is standing. The other has long dark hair and is sat in a wheelchair. In front of the podium a large group of people have gathered. They are all dressed semi formally.
Mark Fisher looks down at a piece of paper in his hand and talks into a microphone. He appears to be in his late 40s, he is wearing a blue suit, glasses and has curly grey hair. The the blurry background we can see the light of a screen and some people looking towards him.
Two people, a man and a woman, who appear to be in the middle of laughing are holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The woman has a baby strapped to her front, which is looking up at the man. She appears to be in her 30s, she has long, straight mousy brown hair. The man is white, early 30s, with receding brown hair, he is wearing a purple T shirt with a blue jacket over it.
Two people, a man and a woman pose on the stairs with a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The man appears to be in his late 20s, he has brown hair and a short brown beard. He is wearing a patterned purple top. The woman next to him is smiling wide, she is white and also appears to be in her late 20s, she has long blonde hair and is wearing a grey coat with black accents.
A man smiles holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The man appears to be in his late 40s, white, he is bald with a brown beard, is wearing glasses and a grey three piece suit.
Two people, a man and a woman smile holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The man is tall, white, appears to be in his 50s and is wearing dark blue suit. The woman is white, appears to be in her early 40s, she has curly brown hair that is tied back and is wearing a long sleeved dark dress.
Two people, a man and a woman smile holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The woman appears to be in her 30s, she has tousled black hair and dark makeup. She is wearing a black and white striped top. The man appears to be in his late 20s. He has short brown hair, glasses and is wearing a black jumper.
Simon Hodgson form the BOP board stands holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The man appears to be in his 60s. He is white with thinning grey hair, and thick grey eyebrows. He is wearing a striped blue shirt with a grey jacket.
Two people, a man and a woman smile holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The woman appears to be in her 40s she is white with frizzy short black hair. She is wearing a floral purple and pink dress and large hoop earrings. The man, also appears to be in his 40s, he is white with black hair and black goatee. He is wearing a white shirt with a blue jumper over it.
Four people, two women and two men smile holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. From left to right; there is a young man in a blue checked shirt, glasses, he is white and has a nose ring. Next to him there is an Asian woman who appears to be in her late 30s, she has medium length wavy black hair and is wearing a polka dot dress. Then, there is a tall white man who appears to be in his late 30s, he has spiked up black hair that is shorter on the sides and a trimmed down beard, he is wearing a smart navy suit and tie. Lastly there is a woman who appears to be in her late 40s, white, with a dark bob cut, she is wearing a floral blue dress and holding a drink.
Two people, a man and a woman smile holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The man appears to be in his late 20s, white, he has short brown hair, glasses and is wearing a black jumper. The woman also appears to be in her late 20s, white with a short brown pixie haircut, she is wearing a black cardigan and a large pink scarf.
Three women smile holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. They are all white and middle aged. The woman on the left has medium length brown hair and is wearing a long sleeved red top with white flowers on it. The woman in the middle has swept back blonde hair and is wearing a black and white damask patterned dress. The woman on the right, has short blonde hair, glasses and is wearing a black dress.
Two men smile holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The man on the left is white, appears to be in his 40s, has very short brown hair and is wearing a dotted dark pink top. The man next to him is much taller, white, appears to be in his 40s and is wearing a dark blue shirt. We can see he is holding a drink in his other hand. There are lots of people milling around in the background.
Two people hold up their wine glasses while holding up a sign together. The sign has the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The person on the left is a white woman who looks in her 30s, she has a blonde bob haircut, large glasses and is wearing a scarf. Next to her there is a white person with curly brown hair, they are wearing a black top, with a blue jacket over it, a chunky necklace and red lipstick.
Three people smile and pose for the photograph. On the left there is a white woman who appears to be in her 50s, she was short, wavy grey hair and is wearing a large grey shawl with dangling earrings. Next to her there is a man who appears to be in his late 40s, white, he is bald with a brown beard, is wearing glasses and a grey three piece suit. He is holding up a wine glass in one hand. On the end there is an older woman holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP.
Two older women with their arms around each other hold up a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP.
Two women sitting and smiling for the photo. The woman on the left appears to be in her early 30s, she is white, with long dark hair. She is holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. Next to her is an asian woman who appears to be in her late 30s, she has long dark hair and is smiling.
Two people, a man and a woman smile holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The middle aged woman on the left has medium length brown hair and is wearing a long sleeved red top with white flowers on it. The man next to her is also middle aged, with messy brown hair and thick black glasses, he is wearing a dark blue suit with a light blue tie.
Three men smile and pose for a photo. The man in the middle holds a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. He has a big open mouthed smile on his face. The men either side of him are grinning and holding up their drinks.
A group of six people gather, two men and four women. One woman has her phone out and appears to be talking. The others are leaning in and appear to be laughing at whatever was on the phone.
Six people, four women and two men pose with a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The women are standing at the foot of some steps with one man crouching in front of them and the other sat in a wheelchair in front of them.
A woman smiles and holds up a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. She appears to be in her early 30s, white, with curly ginger hair.
Three people, two men and a woman smile holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. Both men are giving thumbs up to the camera and the one on the right is giving the rock on sign with his other hand. He appears to be in his late 40s, white, with very short brown hair and a red jumper. The woman in the middle, is also white, mid 40s, with big, wavy, ginger hair. She is wearing a high necked floral dress. The man on the left, is white, in his 50s, has floppy grey hair, a short beard, glasses and is wearing a brown tweed jacket, a blue shirt and a red tie.
Two people, a man and a woman smile holding a sign with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written inside it. Underneath this it says #HappyBirthdayBOP. The man appears to be in his late 40s, white, with brown hair and a pink shirt. The woman next to him is sat in a wheelchair and appears to be in her early 20s/ late teens. She is white, with long wavy red hair and glasses.
Two people, a man and a woman talking to each other at the event. The woman is scratching her head. She appears to be in her 40s, she has short dark hair and is wearing a short striped shirt. The man, also appears to be in his 40s, he is white with black hair and black goatee. He is wearing a white shirt with a blue jumper over it. He is holding a glass of wine in one hand and is in the middle of talking.
A woman stands playing guitar. She appears to be in her early 30s. She has dark shaggy hair with a long side fringe. She is wearing a blue checked dress and large hoop earrings. She is looking at another woman with long dark hair, but she is largely out of focus.
A woman talks into a microphone from behind a small wooden podium. She is holding cards in one of her hands. She is in a wheelchair and has long dark hair with highlights. She appears to be in her 30s and is wearing a smart light blue top.
Kinny Gardner, an older man stands holding a microphone. He is looking off to the side and across from him on his other side we can see a younger woman smiling at him. He is white with short, flat white hair. He is wearing a blue suit jacket over a T shirt and the jacket has medals on one side of the chest.
Mark Fisher looks down at a piece of paper in his hand and talks into a microphone. He appears to be in his late 40s, he is wearing a blue suit, glasses and has curly grey hair. The the blurry background we can see the light of a screen and some people looking towards him.
Fiona Hyslop MSP stands behind a short wooden podium. On the front of the podium we can see a piece of paper with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written on the inside of it. Underneath this it reads: '#HappyBirthdayBOP'. The woman is holding a piece of paper in her hand as she talks. She appears to be in her early 50s, has short brown hair and is wearing a light blue dress with a pink and purple scarf.
Patrick Harvie MSP stands behind a short wooden podium. On the front of the podium we can see a piece of paper with the Birds of Paradise logo with '25 years' written on the inside of it. He appears to be in his early 40s, he is white, bald and has a short dark beard. He is wearing glasses and holds a small glass of wine in one hand.
People milling around with drinks and talking. In focus, there are two people. One is a middle aged white woman, she has medium length brown hair with a fringe, she is wearing a long sleeved charcoal top and is holding a drink in one hand. She is talking to a young white person, who is also holding a drink. They have chin length curly hair, they are wearing a black top, with a blue jacket over it, a chunky necklace and red lipstick.
A few women gathered around talking with drinks in their hands. Only one of the women is completely in focus. She appears to be in her late 20s, white, with medium length, straight blonde hair. She is wearing a navy top and holding a wine glass with both hands, she is looking at another woman while they speak.
Two people, a man and a woman talking to each other at the event. The woman is scratching her head. She appears to be in her 40s, she has short dark hair and is wearing a short striped shirt. The man, also appears to be in his 40s, he is white with black hair and black goatee. He is wearing a white shirt with a blue jumper over it. He is holding a glass of wine in one hand and is in the middle of talking.
Various people mill around talking with drinks in their hands. In focus we see a woman talking to a man who is looking off to the side. The woman has wavy, medium length brown hair and a long sleeved charcoal top. The man is white, appears to be in his late 50s, he has sparse, messy blonde hair and short arms. He is wearing a light shirt with a chunky navy tie.
Robert, Mairi, Michelle and Callum pose for a photo in front of a large set of grey stairs. The man and woman at the front are sat down in wheelchairs with the other two stood behind them. They are all dressed formally and are smiling at the camera.

Posted on: 29 Apr 2018

Share this Article:

Latest Articles

Promotional graphic featuring the BOP logo above the text 'New Ground: Access in Process' and a magenta diagonal banner reading 'Applications Open,' set against a dark auditorium with rows of empty seats.
Blog 19 Aug 2026

Producer Call-out: New Ground – Access in Process

We're seeking a freelance Producer for our works-in-progress event: New Ground – Access in Process on Saturday 21st November. Deadline: Sunday 20th September 2026

Promotional graphic featuring the BOP logo above the text 'New Ground: Access in Process' and a magenta diagonal banner reading 'Applications Open,' set against a dark auditorium with rows of empty seats.
Blog 22 Jul 2026

Call-out for artists: New Ground – Access in Process

Development opportunity to create space for disabled artists to explore new ways of making work with Creatively Embedded Access with a future sharing event in November 2026. Deadline: Sunday 13th September 2026

Blog 14 Jul 2026

Disabled Artists at EdFringe: 2026 Listing

We've put together this list to make it easier to discover disabled-led shows taking place across the festival. We hope you find something you'd like to see.