Deaf Capital

4Play 2013: An Ethnosexual Anthology
Deaf Capital This year, I went to see 4play for the first time. I just happened to be in London with a free night and wanted to see the newest writing, directing and acting for the year; which was hosted by the new Park Theatre (just round the back of Finsbury Park station). 4play is a brainchild [...]
Sun, May 05 2013

Poem: The first idea was a sign on the hands
Deaf Capital A poem inspired by Michael Rosen or, as he describes, the 1930′s Berlin Arts scene (Michael is the Guest Director of the Brighton Festival in May 2013). As well, theories of language genesis points to the probability that the first expression of ideas was expressed by human’s hands, and not their voices. “The first idea [...]
Wed, May 01 2013

The best hearing aid ever made
Deaf Capital The oil has run out. The wells had run dry with no more places left to drill. This post apocalyptic landscape is a world starved of its addiction. The obvious victims are products that rely on oil to function such as petrol/diesel driven vehicles, gas cookers and the abundance of electricity. There are other by-products [...]
Wed, Mar 13 2013

My Journey to ‘Capital Deaf’
Deaf Capital A person I know sent me a private message: Have you seen this? Just to let you know that this person doesn’t seem to know your background and called you a ‘Capital Deaf’!! Or maybe you are proud of it? This statement comes from a deaf person. I won’t say much about that person in [...]
Sun, Feb 10 2013

The Belgian Twins, Euthanasia and the Myth
Deaf Capital Mythology has a little bit of truth and not the whole truth. I comes with a hero, a victim and a villain. Just like the ‘father of history’, Herodotus, who took the stories of the soldiers in Ancient Greeco-Persia wars and turned them into grand tales of battles won and heroes fallen. But Herodotus is [...]
Wed, Jan 16 2013

How not to write ‘deaf’? A user guide.
Deaf Capital I chanced upon a website and it said: “D/deaf and D/deafened and hard of hearing people.” I tried to get my head around this one and I ended up with a mathematical result of ‘infinity’, who means no result. It was like a blue screen of death in the early Microsoft years. I first thought [...]
Fri, Nov 09 2012

Was It Tanika’s Journey?
Deaf Capital I went to see Tanika’s Journey at the Southwark Playhouse, near London Bridge. It was a Deafinitely Theatre production and directed by Paula Garfield. I really wanted to write something about the play but I realised it was impossible to write a review without adding some spoilers, so I decided to hold off until the [...]
Sat, Oct 20 2012

Sexualising of the Deaf Identity
Deaf Capital “I learnt that ‘Deaf’ is the new ‘Gay’,” he said. You could tell the hint of disillusionment in his eyes. He was talking about his experience during a Teacher of the Deaf course. This statement described how he felt during his studies, as a Deaf person with non-Deaf peers, and how his identity was perceived [...]
Mon, Aug 20 2012

The true value of interpreters
Deaf Capital Here in Brighton, sign language interpreter services are under attack. Various NHS services have decided to pool interpreter contracts into a ‘single agency', to cover all languages including British Sign Language. They (the agencies I was in communication with) have stated their terms: £30 ph, minimum call out charge of 2 hours, no travel expenses, [...]
Tue, Jul 03 2012

Annus Horribilis 1921
Deaf Capital The 1889 Royal Commission on Education for the Blind and Deaf & Dumb was an inquiry into mandatory education for deaf children, in the pursuit of oralism. While it was the first in depth survey of its kind, it was a biased inquiry on the back of an ideology. Simply, the system wasn't there to [...]
Wed, Jun 13 2012

The Thought Experiment
Deaf Capital When most of us imagine an experiment, we imagine people dressed in white coats with subjects succumbing to their will. In reality, these tests are done under careful scrutiny and has a lengthy ethical review process. But there is a different type of experiment that doesn't require subjects, it is a thought experiment. One of [...]
Thu, Jul 28 2011

Raising the Deaf Flag
Deaf Capital There are many symbols that have been used in our day and age that provide a symbolic representation of an identity. A flag is only one of them. There are also salutes, oaths, statues, symbolic shapes (crosses and stars), handshakes/nose rubs, badges, dances, costumes, hair styles, headwear, books, jewellery and more. All have been utilised [...]
Thu, Jul 28 2011

Kim�s Game and the Kinaesthetic Thinker
Deaf Capital “Deaf people are people of the eye.” “Deaf people see things differently.” “Deaf people can see more.” The experiment on peripheral vision was used as an indicator that Deaf people better utilised their sight compared to non-deaf people. I am still left scratching my head. You know why? My peripheral vision is just rubbish. Rather [...
Thu, Jul 28 2011

Deaf Capital Thermometer: July 2011
Deaf Capital What is going hot and cold in the Deaf village? Here is a thermometer of events cooling down or heating up Deaf capital.
Thu, Jul 28 2011

The Legacy of Lady Warnock
Deaf Capital We were deep in the bowels of Parliament and in the distance there was a small woman slowly making her way �closer to us. She slightly hunched as if the weight of Parliament rested on her shoulders but her face was light and at ease. Her hair was bravely short and still moved in the [...]
Mon, Jul 25 2011

Kim�s Game and the Kinaesthetic Thinker
Deaf Capital “Deaf people are people of the eye.” “Deaf people see things differently.” “Deaf people can see more.” The experiment on peripheral vision was used as an indicator that Deaf people better utilised their sight compared to non-deaf people. I am still left scratching my head. You know why? My peripheral vision is just rubbish. Rather [...
Sat, Jul 23 2011

The Thought Experiment
Deaf Capital When most of us imagine an experiment, we imagine people dressed in white coats with subjects succumbing to their will. In reality, these tests are done under careful scrutiny and has a lengthy ethical review process. But there is a different type of experiment that doesn't require subjects, it is a thought experiment. One of [...]
Thu, Jul 21 2011

Raising the Deaf Flag
Deaf Capital There are many symbols that have been used in our day and age that provide a symbolic representation of an identity. A flag is only one of them. There are also salutes, oaths, statues, symbolic shapes (crosses and stars), handshakes/nose rubs, badges, dances, costumes, hair styles, headwear, books, jewellery and more. All have been utilised [...]
Wed, Jul 20 2011

Deaf Capital Thermometer: July 2011
Deaf Capital What is going hot and cold in the Deaf village? Here is a thermometer of events cooling down or heating up Deaf capital.
Fri, Jul 15 2011

The Experiment: The Shopping Test
Deaf Capital I was first introduced to British Signed Language in 1989 and it wasn't until 1993, when I became fluent enough to hold a conversation with any Deaf person. I felt like the honorary guest to cuts the red ribbon without an audience, it was the start of a new era. I felt I had attained [...]
Wed, Jul 13 2011

The GDP of the Deaf Village
Deaf Capital It happened in a lucid dream. I was walking through a village but this place was different. It was so easy to see who was at home and who wasn't. The front of the houses had large windows, like shop fronts, with drawn blinds. The lights were on but some had the blinds drawn up [...]
Tue, Jul 12 2011

1945-70: The Height of Loquomania
Deaf Capital Before the Second World War, the practice of oral education was threadbare. There were a few niche schools supporting children with residual hearing to develop their speech but most children were educated through the combined method. It was the combination of lipreading, fingerspelling and sign language. Two events took place that completely changed the landscape: [.....
Fri, Jul 08 2011