Miss-Delectable
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Deaf talkabout: The life-enhancing benefits of high-tech - Opinion - News - Belfast Telegraph
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a great favourite with the deaf community, partly because of the hilarious yet moving episode in the film when Hugh Grant's on-screen deaf brother uses sign language during the church service to try and persuade him that his wedding is a mistake.
That cameo by actor David Bower is authentic as he really has a hearing problem and uses digital aids for communication. He is one of the signdance team booked to appear at the West Belfast festival being held at St Mary's University College, Belfast, next Thursday, for an innovative dance-theatre called "But Beautiful" led by artists highly respected in their field, including several who are also deaf or physically disabled.
Founded in 2001 by David and Cuban-born dancer Isolte Avila, Signdance Collective has developed original performances using signdance - the unique visual language they developed over twenty years ago in which sign language is regarded as being at the centre of artistic creation. The show is based on the life of jazz legend Art Pepper and explores how an extraordinary legacy of music grew from a painful and chaotic period of his life.
Doors open at 7pm and tickets are £5. Phone 90 284028 for more information.
Shows like the above point to a slow but seemingly inexorable change taking place in the deaf community. Led partly by people of vision who see no reason why we should allow our disability to cut us off from the cultural delights enjoyed by the hearing world, and partly by the new laws enacted by government, such as the Disability Discrimination Act, which encourages and enforces accessibility to places of entertainment, we now have the opportunity to lead richer and more rewarding lives.
Theatres like the Grand Opera House have led the way by organising interpreted and stage text performances of popular shows such as Cats, and Queen's Film Theatre has made a valiant effort to popularise subtitled films. Over the past few years we have been spoiled by the almost total subtitled coverage of films and sport on television and it has proved difficult getting deaf people to leave their comfortable firesides for the dubious excitement of watching a new film on the big screen.
Can shows like Signdance start a new trend? In the old days we were attracted to clubs and other places where the deaf assembled because our friends were there and we knew we would be with people who shared our language and mode of expression. Is the attraction of a stage or film show strong enough to overcome the languor induced by shows like Coronation Street or Neighbours where we can follow every twist of the plots and understand all the language from the comfort of a favourite armchair?
Deaf people still get out of the house when the inducement is strong enough and as most of us have cars transport is no problem. Last week Evelyn and I were at a farewell party for a deaf friend returning to Scotland after many years living here and we had a very enjoyable evening just talking and eating and reminiscing over our time together. We made our own entertainment and it was good to get out.
Equality of opportunity is being matched by brilliant new electronic discoveries, and improvements in hearing aids allied to an increasing supply of qualified interpreters. I read recently of a new navigation aid for cars with a screen that can show films from the passenger side and road maps from the driver's seat. Innovations like this may revolutionise the way we watch subtitles on the big screen.
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a great favourite with the deaf community, partly because of the hilarious yet moving episode in the film when Hugh Grant's on-screen deaf brother uses sign language during the church service to try and persuade him that his wedding is a mistake.
That cameo by actor David Bower is authentic as he really has a hearing problem and uses digital aids for communication. He is one of the signdance team booked to appear at the West Belfast festival being held at St Mary's University College, Belfast, next Thursday, for an innovative dance-theatre called "But Beautiful" led by artists highly respected in their field, including several who are also deaf or physically disabled.
Founded in 2001 by David and Cuban-born dancer Isolte Avila, Signdance Collective has developed original performances using signdance - the unique visual language they developed over twenty years ago in which sign language is regarded as being at the centre of artistic creation. The show is based on the life of jazz legend Art Pepper and explores how an extraordinary legacy of music grew from a painful and chaotic period of his life.
Doors open at 7pm and tickets are £5. Phone 90 284028 for more information.
Shows like the above point to a slow but seemingly inexorable change taking place in the deaf community. Led partly by people of vision who see no reason why we should allow our disability to cut us off from the cultural delights enjoyed by the hearing world, and partly by the new laws enacted by government, such as the Disability Discrimination Act, which encourages and enforces accessibility to places of entertainment, we now have the opportunity to lead richer and more rewarding lives.
Theatres like the Grand Opera House have led the way by organising interpreted and stage text performances of popular shows such as Cats, and Queen's Film Theatre has made a valiant effort to popularise subtitled films. Over the past few years we have been spoiled by the almost total subtitled coverage of films and sport on television and it has proved difficult getting deaf people to leave their comfortable firesides for the dubious excitement of watching a new film on the big screen.
Can shows like Signdance start a new trend? In the old days we were attracted to clubs and other places where the deaf assembled because our friends were there and we knew we would be with people who shared our language and mode of expression. Is the attraction of a stage or film show strong enough to overcome the languor induced by shows like Coronation Street or Neighbours where we can follow every twist of the plots and understand all the language from the comfort of a favourite armchair?
Deaf people still get out of the house when the inducement is strong enough and as most of us have cars transport is no problem. Last week Evelyn and I were at a farewell party for a deaf friend returning to Scotland after many years living here and we had a very enjoyable evening just talking and eating and reminiscing over our time together. We made our own entertainment and it was good to get out.
Equality of opportunity is being matched by brilliant new electronic discoveries, and improvements in hearing aids allied to an increasing supply of qualified interpreters. I read recently of a new navigation aid for cars with a screen that can show films from the passenger side and road maps from the driver's seat. Innovations like this may revolutionise the way we watch subtitles on the big screen.