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AD | Extant – Unseen Interviews

Content Warning: Domestic abuse. There is support information at the end.

Unseen is an important and powerful audio drama about the impact of domestic abuse on visually impaired people. The free 45-minute production has been created by Extant, the UK’s leading performing arts company of blind and visually impaired actors and practitioners, and is inspired by the findings in the Unseen Report from the Vision Foundation.

I recently reviewed the drama in advance of its online premiere on Monday 4th March. But in addition to that, I was also invited to send in some questions to members of the team to find out more about how it was made.

So I’m delighted to share some interesting insights from sound designer Ian Rattra y, director Ben Wilson and actor Georgie Morrell. Many thanks to all of them for putting aside some of their valuable time to answer my questions!

AD | Extant – Unseen Review

Content Warning: Domestic abuse. There is support information at the end. I had early access to Unseen for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.

It can be easy to take dramas for granted, as just another form of entertainment. But recently we’ve all been reminded just how emotionally powerful the medium can be, for raising awareness and generating action around serious and devastating real-life issues. The Mr Bates series about the Post Office scandal, and Breathtaking about the NHS during the pandemic, pulled back the curtain to reveal shocking details about events that many people had little to no knowledge of.

The stories were told in a way that was realistic, relatable and accessible, without being sensationalised, so they were compelling and stuck in the mind very effectively.

Now a new audio drama by Extant, the UK’s leading performing arts company of blind and visually impaired actors and practitioners, takes a similar approach to another very difficult issue, in a uniquely creative way.

Unseen, a 45-minute drama which will be available to stream for free on Monday 4th March, shines a light on one of society’s most hidden and disturbing crimes – domestic abuse against visually impaired people (the lessons from which are applicable and adaptable to victims of all disabilities).

Did you know, for example, that at least 1 in 12 visually impaired people in the UK (around 188,000) are a victim or survivor of domestic abuse? Or that less than 1 in 5 domestic abuse professionals have had specialist training to support visually impaired victims or survivors?

No, me neither. These are just two of the alarming and sobering statistics in the Unseen Report by the Vision Foundation (using research commissioned from SafeLives), that are incorporated into this new production. It’s being released to coincide with No More Week (3rd-9th March), an annual event that raises awareness of domestic abuse and sexual violence, and educates individuals and organisations about how to take a stand against it.

Therefore, having reviewed some previous Extant productions, I was kindly invited to listen to Unseen this week, in advance of its public release, in order to share my thoughts on it.

Christmas 2023 Favourites – Part 1

Seasons greetings, I hope your preparations for Christmas are going well, November always feels a little bit festive, but for me it was even more so than normal this year, because I’ve already explored a variety of London’s displays, seen a bunch of snowmen on a sculpture trail, and had a free Christmas dinner courtesy of a PR invite. On top of that I’ve also seen a couple of theatre shows, while at home I’ve been enjoying some more TV and music as always.

Consequently it makes sense to treat this as a festive Favourites post and video, and spread the joy over 2 months. It’s not too early as far as I’m concerned. So with the usual disclaimer that all opinions are my own, including for the free food, let’s crack on with it, and I hope you enjoy!

40th Birthday Favourites

Here we go, the big four-o,
These two score years have not gone slow!
Amazing how the time has flown,
And since my youth how much I’ve grown.
I had to celebrate, you know,
With food and drink and West End shows.
So with my friends and on my own,
I’ve really marked this milestone.

There’s stand-up stars who made me laugh,
Musicals well-choreographed,
Eating blind and on a cruise,
A 9-course feast and rounds of booze,
A major rock star’s prized possessions,
Art displayed with cool projections.
An action film with audio description,
And shows I’ve seen on television.

Come see how I’ve spent my time,
I promise it’s not all in rhyme.
Here’s why I’m feeling all aglow,
Enjoy this post and video!

AD | Frameless – Audio Described Tour

Note: I was given complimentary admission to this tour, for feedback and review purposes, but all opinions are my own.

For many people, art is already what they would consider immersive. A carefully considered and expertly crafted painting on a flat canvas has the power to draw you in, so that you’re totally absorbed by its people, places, fashions, creatures, scenery, history, objects, shapes, patterns, colours, messages, emotions, etc. Galleries with framed paintings on their walls have been successful for centuries with good reason, and will rightly continue to be so.

However, there is always scope to experience and enjoy the medium in alternative ways. Not only can it give even the most regular and fervent art connoisseurs a new perspective, but there are a lot of other people for whom it’s nothing short of vital to approach it differently, because they need assistance, encouragement or inspiration to fully appreciate and lose themselves in the masterpieces being presented to them.

For instance, as much as I love a good gallery, the fulfilment I can get from them as a visually impaired person tends to be very limited, hence I don’t go to them very often. On the few occasions I have wandered around such spaces on my own, where accessibility hasn’t been fully considered by the venue, it’s in the unfortunate knowledge and reluctant acceptance that I’m missing out on the full context of the pieces and cannot appreciate the finer details they contain.

I have, therefore, been delighted to take part in audio described tours at several museums and galleries since moving to London, which have really opened up this world to me and enabled me to engage with it more thoroughly.

But in late August I had a descriptive tour of Frameless that took it to another level, with its use of cutting-edge technology that showcases artworks in a way that I’ve never personally encountered before. The buzzword ‘immersive’ is being bandied around a lot in the cultural sector at the moment, and not always accurately judging by the reviews for some attractions, so I have felt uncertain about visiting such places. But for me Frameless very much lived up to that billing. And they have more audio described tours coming up, so I wanted to give some insight into what it’s like.

AD | Extant – Super Power Panto Interview

One of the things I’ve been able to demonstrate in this blog is that having a visual impairment doesn’t prevent me from having a good time and being successful in life. It took me a while to learn and appreciate that when I was a shy youngster, but over time I learned that I can have hobbies and skills just like anyone else, and make the most of them. In fact my talents have directly led to an exciting new opportunity very recently, which I’ll get to in another post soon.

Consequently, it’s proven to be fun and rewarding to ignore convention and challenge misconceptions, by doing things that are different or unexpected. In all our minds it’s easy to assume that certain things can only occur at certain times, or in certain places, or be done by certain people, when they can actually happen anytime or anywhere, and anyone is capable of doing it.

So with that in mind – why not go to a pantomime in the spring? Why should we wait until the festive season to lose ourselves in the joy that such a production brings? Especially when there’s an exciting, interactive, inclusive new show that’s touring the UK in March, teaching children to embrace their own super powers!

AD | Extant – States of Mind Review

Note: I received complimentary tickets to attend this production, but all opinions are my own.

It’s good to be back. After such a long absence from auditoriums, it was lovely to take a seat in a theatre again yesterday, to enjoy the premiere of a new and original play.

States of Mind was produced by Extant, the UK’s leading performing arts company of visually impaired artists, and was showcased at RADA Studios as part of the Bloomsbury Festival.

Christopher Hunter’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s earliest published work starred Gillian Dean & Robin Paley Yorke, and was an intriguing premise, as I had learned in my exclusive interviews with Christopher and Gillian very recently (and many thanks to them again for their time). So I was looking forward to checking it out.

AD | Extant – States of Mind Interviews

Note: This post is marked as an advertisement because I have been generously sent complimentary tickets to attend and review the show. I accepted them because I am very happy to support a production that features visually impaired performers and looks very interesting.

I’ve missed the theatre, it’s been 20 months since I last set foot in an auditorium. So what better time to make my return, than to see a brand new play that is produced and performed by visually impaired people, and is fully accessible for a visually impaired audience. That level of inclusion is courtesy of Extant, the UK’s leading performing arts company of visually impaired artists and creatives, whose work I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in the past when I saw Flight Paths.

The production, called States of Mind, is a contemporary dramatization of the poem Venus and Adonis, the first published work by Shakespeare. When the Bard wrote it, London’s theatres were closed because of the plague, so it’s rather fitting that this modern retelling was put together during the Covid pandemic.

In advance of its premiere on Saturday night as part of the Bloomsbury Festival, I was granted the opportunity to pose some questions to writer & director Christopher Hunter and actress Gillian Dean, who are both visually impaired (as is Gillian’s co-star Robin Paley Yorke).

So here Christopher gives us an informative introduction to the play, before Gillian gives an extensive and fascinating interview about her career and the play, and the accessibility of the performing arts for disabled actors like herself, and she gives a lot of advice for aspiring performers who want to get into the industry.

So, many thanks to Christopher & Gillian for giving up so much of their valuable time, amidst their busy preparations for the play, in order to share their insightful responses with me. Let’s get to it.

September 2021 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’re all continuing to enjoy yourselves safely. I’m happy to say that I’ve managed to get out to meet some friends and explore the city again at long last, as my aches and pains are continuing to ease off, now that I’ve figured out how I was over-correcting my posture problems. I’m still not cancelling my November NHS physio appointment yet, as I don’t want to tempt fate, but I’m feeling much better at the moment. So I seem to be moving in the right direction, touch wood!

That means I actually have some recent and upcoming London adventures to tell you about in this month’s post and video, as well as the usual mixture of entertainment I’ve been into. So it’s a bumper update this time. With the exception of a theatre show I’ll be mentioning, for which I’ve been kindly given a review ticket, nothing else in this post is sponsored or gifted. So I hope you enjoy!

AD | 6 Tips for Setting Up a Business When You’re Visually Impaired

This is a paid advertisement. I only share this type of content occasionally, when I feel it’s relevant to the themes of my blog and can be of benefit to my audience. So I hope you find it of interest.

Thinking of setting up a business as a visually impaired person? These six top tips for doing just that should help to get you started…

A pair of glasses being held up in front of a blurry street scene

There’s no denying that blindness and partial sightedness can have a huge impact on your daily life. Considering 66 percent of the UK blind population are unemployed, it’s clear to see that the job sector needs an overhaul. So, why not set up your own business?

Of course, it won’t be easy, and there are plenty of things to consider before jumping right in. From seeking advice on accessible commercial conveyancing transactions to finding the right technologies that work for you, there’s plenty to think about.

That said, it’s certainly not impossible, and who knows – you may even make a real mark on the employment scene for those with VI. In this article, we’re going to explore six tips for setting up a business when you’re visually impaired, so take a look…

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