what people think being deaf is: silence
what being deaf actually is: googling the lyrics to every song ever because until I know it's literally just ✨noise✨
When I was younger, the more I struggled to hear and the more hearing I lost, the more I thought my dreams of being an actor was slipping away. I was angry and upset - how would I act if I couldn’t hear the cues?? How would I lipread on set? Who would even cast a deaf actor??
Saw a west end musical this weekend and the hearing loop didn’t work. There was no interval for me to ask, staff didn’t tell me what to do if it didn’t work, and I was given it 2 mins before the show started. I knew the songs well but couldn’t understand ANY of the speaking 🧵/1
I’m now getting my mates round next week to watch my tv debut - a deaf character in a mainstream bbc series, after coming home from my first professional theatre run playing the lead role of a deaf character in a musical
She would never believe me and she’d be so so proud. THIS is why representation matters, THIS is why access in the arts, deaf role models and inclusive casting matters
If I could tell my 15 year old self that not only would I be an actor, I would be playing deaf roles just like myself and using sign language, wearing my hearing aids with pride, unashamedly demanding my access needs, constantly learning about myself and my industry
I rely on captions and in boris' announcement the captions said hospitalisation is up by 14% but he actually said 40% ?? accessibility needs to be accurate ESPECIALLY in an announcement detailing some of the most important and vital information about public safety. do better
1st class baby!! had many many struggles and barriers throughout my degree and have a LOT of feelings about the state of access in drama schools but for now I’m just gonna celebrate looking hot at grad and all my hard work
#DeafCanDoAnything
And just think what message this gives to me and other deaf actors - we can’t be bothered to even accommodate you as an audience member, let alone as a performer 5/5
Also important to note: BSL interpreted shows are so infrequent, the next BSL performance is July for this show yep JULY, THERE ARE 8 SHOWS EVERY WEEK AND THE NEXT BSL SHOW IS IN JULY /4
We spoke to the manager and are hoping to get tickets to go back another time (they handled it nicely enough so no shade) but was so gutting as I had been waiting for months, travelled down to London specifically, I was really looking forward to it /2
This is an industry wide issue and I’m not trying to out this specific venue but just trying to highlight how the industry doesn’t prioritise access - even when hearing loops are there half the time they don’t wore. This is such a common occurrence. /3
to have been a little part of series 24 of Silent Witness is SO COOL and for it to have 62.3 million streams on iplayer is a bit whaaaat?!? congrats to the whole team, cast and crew
"Deaf and disabled artists are taking the industry by storm..."
Rhiannon Jones aims to weave creativity and access together seamlessly, and we're excited to be supporting her practice through a DaDa Fellowship.
Find out more:
Roles in musicals I really think should be played by a deaf actress (aka me)
Zoe in dear Evan Hansen
Natalie in next to normal
Boleyn (or any queen tbh) in Six
Veronica in heathers
Emma in the prom
@Chloe_Anne07
@loulouisepacker
imagine you pretend gods your baby daddy and everyone believes you next thing you know kids are doing plays about you every christmas madness
"I’m worried I don’t know all there is to know…" 👀
Welcome back 🤩
#SilentWitness
returns for its 25th anniversary with six thrilling new episodes...
Watch brand new Silent Witness on iPlayer from 23 May at 9pm
If your accessibility exists in a professional context but not in a social one then it’s not access it’s just doing what youre told will build your brand
ITS COMING!! 👽🪐💚✨“Crash Landing: a Theatrical Sensory Experience” will be performed
@unitytheatre
this Saturday 29th October as part of
@DaDaFest
International Deaf and Disabled Arts Festival 🪐 performed in BSL with integrated creative captions and audio description !!
work from home is crap yeah but every time i watch my gf lead a workshop w school kids on zoom and say “let’s see your super hero poses …. oh wow that’s incredible! I can see so many amazing superheroes on my screen” I fall in love w her a bit more every time
tomorrow I take a bit of a show I’ve been thinking about, sketching out, planning, writing and designing, for months, into a real life room with a real life creative team and make it into a real life Thing….nervous is an understatement
If I had a pound every time a hearing person tells me they 'soooo think BSL should be taught in schools' but then still never bothers to learn any simple BSL to help communicate with me I would probs be rich enough to bribe the government to put BSL in the curriculum
“WE WILL PISS ON PITY, REVOLUTIONS NOT PRETTY” I won’t forget this for a very very long time. disabled people are HERE and we are FUCKING UNAPOLOGETIC
@NSDFest
What a finale! Entire audience surged on stage to sing & dance to Piss On Pity with the cast. This show needs another run. Let's make it happen theatre peeps!!
@NSDFest
I made a show!!! It had a deaf space explorer main character!! It had goo and slime and smells and ice!! I worked so hard on ‘Crash Landing’ and I’m v proud🪐 👽 still trying to process all the madness of the last couple of weeks so please bear with me 💚
Not only will the ENTIRE
#GoodGrief
tour be captioned, but we’re working with the incredible
@Rhiannonmayy
as our Access Director 🔥
Rhiannon is teaching us how to take accessibility beyond the caption box, & is taking
#GoodGrief
to new heights with the influence of
#BSL
sign 😍
My timeline today is full of glorious disabled people celebrating, enlightening, educating and shouting about international day of disabled people and it just reassures me that I’m following the right people🌟⭐️🌟
🔬 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from Rhiannon Jones, who will guest star as Cara in series 24, and the rest of the
#SilentWitness
filming bubble along with BSL Consultant Daryl Jackson, BSL Interpreter David Shields & Director Delyth Thomas! 🎄
mad how I couldn't go to uni last year because my mental health was such a mess and now I'm choosing which drama school offer to accept honestly keep going because recovery is so worth it I promise you
ah yes because no vaccine centre in the whole of Merseyside can possibly accommodate using an interpreter through an app?! no doubt I’ll get there and be met with “well we weren’t notified before so we can’t use it/don’t know how”
watching myself react to room full of people who support me and my work “deaf clapping” and cheering is pretty emotional. I think this is the feeling I want to feel forever
Introducing…CRASH LANDING
Performed as part of
#DDFS21
at
@unitytheatre
supported by my
@DaDaFest
fellowship. A work in progress scratch performance of experimental creative access using captions and lighting and a huuuge textile backdrop that’s only going to get bigger….
didn’t think I’d be saying I’m collaborating on hologram access any time soon but now I am! “an augmented reality production of her work” is a pretty badass sentence thank u DaDa💚
Further plans for DaDa's
@thespacearts
-funded R&D include a collaboration with
#DaDaFellow
, Rhiannon Jones, on an augmented reality production of her work in progress show “Crash Landing”
tomorrow I take a bit of a show I’ve been thinking about, sketching out, planning, writing and designing, for months, into a real life room with a real life creative team and make it into a real life Thing….nervous is an understatement
every hearing aid advert ever: advertises tiny 'invisible' hidden hearing aids, reiterates that you should be ashamed or embarrassed about them, only ever shows people 50+
me: nah I'm good thanks
all the hard work (and a good bit of luck) is paying off! rehearsals are well underway so stay tuned !! (…also ITS ME IM going to BE IN A MUSICAL someone tell 14 year old Rhiannon and watch her cry with excitement)
My first time on stage as just myself and not a character was pretty nerve wracking but I really enjoyed it! Thanks for having me
@DaDaFest
and
@unitytheatre
Really gutted but my scratch performance won’t be going ahead as originally planned :((( for reasons out of anyone’s control I won’t be performing but I will still be chatting about my piece and my work with
@DaDaFest
on the 24th Nov so please do still come along!
In the ‘waiting room’ for a virtual hospital appointment for 47 MINUTES, only to finally go in and there’s no interpreter, spend just 4 mins typing in the chat to organise another time and that’s it end of call big waste of time.
Please Touch The Art (itch my brain)
@Rhiannonmayy
's Exhibition Launch Alert! Thursday 3rd Nov 6pm-7pm! Followed by
@LovelyWordLpool
The exhibition is in the Everyman Theatre 1 - 12 November no booking necessary the gallery is open during the Everyman opening times.
to top it off the doctor asked if I had anyone who could come with me to interpret next time!!🙃
a) my partner is not qualified to interpret and medically it could be very unsafe
b) she has a job
c) that job is NOT to be my on demand interpreter 24/7
d) just no no no no nooooo
when I first got admitted to hospital I had no access to internet or phone, I was very poorly very scared and very confused. my sister sent me memes and Phillip Schofield's Snapchat story printed out so I wouldn't miss out. that kinda support>>>>>>>
I’m looking for a subpac (wearable tech that turns music into vibration) to hire for a performance-workshop with deaf children next week if anyone has one or could point me in the right direction I would be so grateful 🤞🏻🤞🏻 I’m Liverpool based, retweets appreciated!!
@ all the people who caption your more professional social media content, e.g show trailers etc. but never caption your chatty insta stories 👀 I see you, I don’t understand you, but I see you
nothing quite as validating as feeling not ‘deaf enough’ then (finally) getting an iphone and immediately getting this notification…. lol I’m finally in the deaf iphone user club APPLE BABES IM DEAF ITS NOT GONNA DO ANYTHING
Introducing... an exciting cohort of recipients of our brand new creative development bursary!
Meet the DaDaFest Florescence Fellows, four artists selected for their passion for social justice and commitment to creatively advancing equality:
I’m so proud to be one of the featured writers for this show and will be involved on stage digitally with a BSL performance of my piece so get your tickets and come celebrate all things Liverpool with what is looking to be a really exciting show, do NOT miss it!!
If the fabric of this city is its people, then the stitching is the stories we share
Love, Liverpool weaves together multiple stories from the people of Liverpool
It's our love letter to our city, and we cant wait for you to see it 💕
👉
@charlhyde
It’s something people can say easily and then feel satisfied they’ve done their ‘ally work’ for the day. Like YES I agree it should be taught in schools but focusing purely on BSL in schools as a “fix” to ableism is unrealistic and an excuse to not put the work in 🤷🏻♀️
*Casting process*
We met some brilliantly talented actors for the role of Mish and made some great new connections with Deaf artists.
@rhiannon1may
felt like a brilliant fit and we were instantly *extremely* excited to work with her.
Coming off a zoom for once not drained, but instead all fizzy with excitement and feeling ideas buzzing about in my brain is a very very very nice feeling !!
don’t offer the access option on the website if it doesn’t even work!! I know I go on about these things lots but it’s so frustrating that even when there appears to be basic equal access offered it’s essentially just for show. It shouldn’t be this hard
hello yes this is my baby she is called stella and she likes rocks and sticks and going places she's not supposed to be and running around until she goes all sleepy and floppy she doesn't like hiccups and she's scared of nothing (but the hoover is just a little bit terrifying)
Has anyone seen the
@NTLive
recording of prima facie advertised in cinemas anywhere with subtitles? I asked a local cinema and they said they’re not offering any subtitled showings because they weren’t provided a subtitle track with the film? reeeeaally wanna see it 😩
people living with mental illness deserve better. we need staff in psych units to be fully trained, we need basic respect, for there to be enough staff for the patients to actually go outside into the sunshine and not be stuck inside the same 4 walls for days on end
we need more training for teachers and other professionals to recognise the warning signs of mental illness because it’s not always obvious so Theresa May, on
#WorldMentaHealthDay
please please listen when we say fund the mental health services it’s just basic human compassion
we’re asking for crisis services to function as they should and to not be shoved, scared and unwell in a hospital bed for days waiting for a psych evaluation whilst being treated as a burden and inconvenience for a and e staff
imagine being against teaching a language used by approx 151,000 people in the UK that gives not just deaf children, but also their peers and anyone who might benefit, access to a full rich beautiful language. D/deaf people deserve better than this ugly 'cant be bothered' mindset
video description: Rhiannon, a young white woman with brown hair and big glasses, twirls around a large brick room grinning. In the background you can catch a glimpse of a huge colourful fabric backdrop
Joining the WHO CARES 2032 launch from afar! Will also be discussing my role as Mish in the film “Mish and Graham” and what it was like being involved with the project.
@HydrocrackerCo
@RoyalDerngate
@_deafconnect_