Accessible UK

[trouble]

Got this through my email contacts. I don't live in the UK anymore, but I thought it may be useful for some folks here:

Join the campaign for an accessible UK

Take part in our Action for Access campaign. Help us to build our
accessibility map of the UK, share your positive and negative access
stories and get tips on what your local services can and should be
doing to improve access.

Go to [this website] to create your own personal profile and start taking action for
access! We have produced a short and simple list of survey questions
to get you started which you can download from the website.

Accessibility WIN at the Blue Room Theatre

[sami]

So, tonight I went to the Blue Room Theatre in Northbridge, Perth, Western Australia, to see a young comic named John Robertson do standup comedy.

The Blue Room Theatre is, as far as I can tell, wheelchair accessible, but that's totally not the win here, because the win is that - by fluke - I went along on AUSLAN NIGHT.

This standup comedy show had, to one side of the stage, an interpreter, called Mike, who did a running sign language translation of the entire performance.

This in itself provided some incredibly funny interplay between John and Mike - it was discovered that some of the jokes are actually funnier signed, and Mike does his best to mimic the comic as closely as possible, which he did brilliantly - and generally added to the enjoyment of the evening even for audience members like me (hearing, completely ignorant of sign language, currently unable to learn it because one arm doesn't work properly), and - as it turned out in the Q&A with the performers after the show - was a truly wonderful occasion for some of the audience.

There were a couple, one hearing one deaf, who said that it was the first time they'd ever been able to go to something together and both enjoy it equally.

A young woman expressed her joy that, for the first time, she'd been able to bring her dad to a comedy event. (She noted that he has some visual impairment, as well as being deaf, and was very pleased that the part of the stage where Mike was standing was very well-lit, so her father could see him just fine.)

Out of the audience discussion, too, came some ideas that I hope will be carried out - several people from the local theatre/comedy community were there, and the idea was discussed of making a regular event, every month or two, of having (affordable) comedy nights with local comics accompanied by an interpreter, for more events that can be shared by hearing and deaf people alike.

"Would there be much interest in the deaf community, do you think?" one guy asked.

"Definitely!" Someone noted that the deaf community in Perth is small, it was pointed out that we were in a 50-seat venue, and this is something which doesn't have to be supported solely by the deaf community - after all, it's something that the hearing can enjoy too. (One woman in the audience, who's learning AUSLAN right now, pointed out that it could be really good for students of the language, too.) Some jokes are improved by it even for the hearing, and it's just an awesome, positive experience for the event to be something that can be shared.

Seriously, hearing/seeing the people who were sharing this kind of experience with a loved one for the first time ever - who could be around that kind of joy and not be moved?

So, even though it was sheer fluke that I went tonight of all nights (I only found out about the show and decided to go today, and I only got a ticket because of a late cancellation), I'm really, really glad I went on AUSLAN night, it was brilliant. More standup comedy performances need sign interpreters - it's a wonderful, wonderful addition.