While we were touring in North America I was excited to be in touch with a number of theatre academics who are interested in the Relaxed Performance movement. Brilliantly Cameron Hunt McNabb, Assistant Professor of English at Southeastern University in Florida and a specialist in medieval and early modern drama agreed to write a guest post explaining her particular interest.…

As a child I loved Children’s TV. Among my favourite characters were Mr Bump, Super Ted, and Rachel in Grange Hill (played by Francesca Martinez) and the thing all these characters had in common was that they were identifiably ‘different’: Mr Bump – poorly coordinated, Super Ted – rejected in the opening sequence because ‘they found something wrong with him’ and Rachel ‘wobbly’ as the result of cerebral palsy.…

A week ago I wrote a post explaining my concerns about Me Before You, a book, and now big budget Hollywood film, that opens in cinemas tomorrow. Countless disabled people and non-disabled allies have spoken out about the stereotypical portrayal of disability and negative messages that it promotes.…

In the words of the bold, forthright, witty, Crip activist Stella Young:

“We’ve been sold a lie that disability is a bad thing… and to live with disability makes you exceptional, it’s not a bad thing and it doesn’t make you exceptional.”…

It’s 11pm and I’ve just settled into bed. I can hear the comforting sound of Fat Sister turning in for the night in the room next door. I heard her shut the blind, giggling gently as we both said goodnight to the lamp-post.…

I’ve just been to the toilet.

To be able to do this safely I need a number of aids. Some of these are permanent and stay in the bathroom, like the grab rail and the emergency alarm. Others are things I need to replace regularly – for example the kneepads that protect me when I move onto the floor to pull up my knickers – or the leggings I wear so I don’t have to worry about fastenings – or the panty liners to help when I don’t make it to the toilet in time.…

Fat Sister’s a specialist Registrar in a busy South London hospital. Like every doctor I’ve ever met she takes the oath she made to ‘do no harm’ very seriously. Her day and night shifts are always long, she often doesn’t get a chance to eat, and her patients stay on her mind long after she’s left the hospital.…

Will and I have spent yesterday afternoon at a fascinating event organised by Devoted and Disgruntled and put on by East London theatre group Access All Areas and performer Cian Binchy. The central question was:

‘How can we better support artists with learning disabilities or autism in making their own work?’…

It’s 10’oclock, I’ve just got home from work because of a late meeting, I’m not feeling well, and I’ve just come across a horrible leak. And it’s not the watery kind that can be fixed by a plumber. It’s a Government memo, leaked to the Daily Mirror that reveals a potential privatisation plan that could seriously undermine the careers of many disabled people.…

When I was at work this weekend I was lucky enough to witness a moment that was both unremarkable and at the same time, so beautiful that I don’t know if I’ll be able to find the words to describe it.…