Backstage In Biscuit Land
So moved & inspired I was by the performance of Backstage In Biscuit Land @ HarbourFront's World Stage last night I felt the need to write something more than the usual 140 character tweet.
GO SEE THIS SHOW!
First off, it's a touching, hilarious and eye-opening performance. Jess Thom is brilliant, charming and funny as fuck. In addition to being well entertained for 90 minutes, you will, or at least I did, have some pre-conceived notions about Tourettes shot to hell. It's a neurological disorder, not a mental disorder. Her tics, as she describes, are to her like blinking is to us. After the first 10 minutes or so I found myself not noticing her physical and verbal tics, so drawn into her presence was I.
The second way this show impacted me, and probably the most lasting, was the idea of "Relaxed Performances".
While we, as a society, have made good strides, albeit slower than they should be, in improving physical and, more recently, digital accessibility, there are still vast areas where we suck.
I was quite moved (and not a bit enraged) by Jess' story of attending a live theatre performance in London some years ago and being asked to leave during intermission because her tics were disturbing the other patrons.
There's more to making a live performance, be it theatre, music, movies, what have you, fully accessible than merely providing some wheelchair access. Kudos to HarbourFront for leading the charge in this regard.
Being involved in advocating for and improving digital accessibility, i immediately thought of expanding the experience of things many of us taken for granted (internet access, the joy of live theatre, etc) to those with accessibility issues. Relaxed Performances addresses some of the same issue we address in the digital context - lighting, contrast, sound, etc.
So, everyone - go see this show. Be wildly entertained by Jess Thom's brilliance. And be educated & inspired by her stories and advocacy.