Touretteshero Young Artist Development Programme; audio description 

Rylan Gleave — After a Dream

After a dream starts with soft repeating piano chords, the quiet ‘clack’ of the piano pedal, and a slow, meandering piano tune. A voice fades in, humming, then blossoming out to the French word ‘Dans’, which means ‘in’. The word could be mistaken for ‘dance’. The piano builds, starting to blur softly and electronically, as the voice splits into two, and grows louder. The words ‘Dans un sommeil’, which mean ‘in a sleep’, are finally revealed in the solo voice, as the piano fades away.

A different voice starts to lead, much higher in pitch, and the piano/other voices return. This high voice dips in and out, glitching gently, as though broadcast on an old radio from many years ago. All voices occupy the space, climbing in intensity, until the peak of the piece, where the French word ‘reviens’, which means ‘return’ in English, is sung. The music dies away, until only the original voice singing ‘Dans’ is left.

Young Artist Development Programme - Rylan Gleave - After A Dream

“Rising - written and performed by Helena Ascough. 

A new set of poems about living with a visual impairment.

Poem one: Opticians”

If I could try on your eyes, what would I see?
Would it be liberation looking at me? 
Would it be beautiful?
Would it be new?
Or an out-of-focus point of view?

For my limitations are my inspiration.
My faults shine like diamonds in the rough
If I could try on some new eyes and stuff
I often do to try and practice kindness
but I guess they are still faulty blindness
can you look past them?

If I could try your eyes on
I would say
we live in the same place 
so we should all love in the same way

“So this next poem is about screen time - about social media and how much time we spend looking at other people. Thinking how we can change ourselves, and thinking that people have so, so much more to look forward to in life than ourselves. 

As a disabled person it's quite easy to compare yourself to other people. Actually I think no matter what type of body or person you are, it’s, it is very easy to always look at other people think that they’re doing better.  When actually, we should celebrate and improve and love our own lives. 

So this poem is called Screen Time.”

This screen time
this comparison time
this zooming on a body that's better than mine
this comparison eating my insides
for those with glasses have beautiful eye 
make up.

I wake up
and I look up at my screen,
this little voice within me is being silently squashed.

Turn it off
don’t give in
live outside of screen time.

“My next poem is called Perspective and I hope you enjoy it”

Your perspective is giving me a headache
a migraine 
eyestrain
for so you are so short-sighted 
I guess society don’t buy inconvention
so I still wear my rose tinted specs 
and refuse to be a designer clone 
my prescription is what I need
not how you want me to be
 
With you it's like I see everything in 3D
I can see the bigger picture
that we should all celebrate diversity 
and clean our glasses
once in a while.

“So this is my favourite poem, the namesake of this whole poetry set, and it's called Rising. And it's about rising above discrimination and people telling you you can't do things, because life’s too short and we should do whatever we want to do. So here it is - Rising.”

She rose to the challenge, 
the world shaking all around her,
yet she was still.

Mountains seemed taller,
steps were steeper,
everything seemed forever harder,
the world was shaking all around her,
and yet she was still.

She still carried on
she put her warning Docs on
and she celebrated the challenge
of climbing a mountain
when everyone wanted her to fall.

The gravel crumbled underneath her feet 
yet she still climbed 
even when she had comments like 
"you can't do that 
you cannot even look people in the eye”

And even now 
she's still aiming high
the sky is the limit 
and she is a Phoenix 
and she will rise.

Young Artist Development Programme - Helena Ascough - Rising

Transforming The Narrative is a combined spoken word piece and soundscape. 

Around nine voices are used interchangeably throughout this piece, all of which have been recorded in different environments. The voices used in the piece speak with various pitches, tones and points of emphasis. A screen reader says random phrases from time to time. A telephone effect has been used on some spoken parts. It’s not always easy to distinguish which voices are saying which parts.

Initially, the soundscape is quite sparse.  As the poem continues, it becomes more frantic. There are occasional breaks in the music, sometimes broken by silence, and other times with a spoken phrase. The spoken and musical elements interweave to create a very dissonate soundscape.

Young Artist Development Programme - Sorcha Pringle - Transforming The Narrative

Young Artist Development Programme - Maria Bradley - 'Tickle My Tourettes Monster' Audio Description

Audio Description of 'Urban Art in Stockwell', a video by artist Born 2be Different

Young Artists Development Programme - Born 2be Different - Urban Art Stockwell - Audio Description

Talking The Biscuit

BBC Woman's Hour reporter Catherine Carr speaks to Touretteshero co-founder Jessica Thom, and other families living with Tourettes, during We Forgot The Lot! - a creative event for children and young people held at Tate Britain in April. 

BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Report From Catherine Carr 13th May 2014

Touretteshero co-founder Jess Thom talks to Clive Anderson and Scottee about her first ever Edinburgh Fringe show Backstage in Biscuit Land which will be on at the Pleasance Courtyard from 1st-16th August: http://tinyurl.com/qb96mkc


BBC Radio 4 Loose Ends 26th July 2014

Flight 82

Another chance to hear Touretteshero co-founder Jess Thom's full length interview about living with Tourettes on Andrew Peach's BBC Berkshire breakfast show. A shortened version of this interview made Pick of the Week on Radio Four which is also available to listen to here.

Find out more at www.touretteshero.com

BBC Radio Berkshire Interview with Andrew Peach 10th January 2012

This is the interview that melted the our server. James Naughtie talks to Touretteshero co-founder Jess Thom about living with Tourettes and why she set up the organisation. To find out more, visit www.touretteshero.com.

BBC Radio 4 Interview with James Naughtie 19th April 2012

Following a sudden surge in interest in Touretteshero, co-founder Jessica Thom talks to BBC World Service's Matthew Bannister about living with Tourettes and the organisation she created to change public perception. For more, visit: www.touretteshero.com

BBC World Service Outlook Interview with Matthew Bannister 25th April 2012

Extracts taken from Annalisa Dinnella's radio documentary "Annalisa Is Awkward" featuring an interview with Touretteshero co-founder Jess Thom.

BBC Radio 4 Annalisa Is Awkward 18th January 2019

Touretteshero co-founder, and author of Welcome to Biscuit Land, Jessica Thom talks to Jane Garvey about her new book and living with Tourettes. Welcome to Biscuit Land is out this week. For more, visit: www.touretteshero.com

BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Interview with Jane Garvey 2nd October 2012

Touretteshero co-founder, and author of Welcome to Biscuit Land, Jessica Thom talks to Rebecca Kesby from the BBC World Service about her new book and living with Tourettes. Welcome to Biscuit Land is out now. For more, visit: www.touretteshero.com

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