Last week was a strange one, full of disappointment for self and others but also a week that surfaced a new sense of what disabled-led steadfastness and stealth can feel like in the fight for disability justice in all its manifestations in our respective societies today. Disappointment yes, but source of joy and impetus in so many ways.
The chance for Sync Leadership to join hearts and minds again with Shubbak Festival was compelling. We came on board to share the story of 63 Days of Sit-In – a performance and documentary film by Basta Theatre Collective based in Palestine. The showcase was at Theatro Technis in London, and it felt such an apt and a vital continuation of the work started with British Council investment in Sync Arabi through our leadership programme in partnership with ArttoHeart in person in 2023 in Jordan and the UK.
Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent leadership and community building often have activism as a core construct. It is all too familiar to be left with no choice but to take to socials and the streets to protest at the inequity of life and opportunity, over access to health insurance and care, travel and transport, buildings, education – arts and culture, access – all of it. We are left out of so many decisions about our lives and leadership, it feels unfathomable at times. As one of the Palestinian ‘fighters’ in the documentary so poignantly shared, if we are included in our society, ‘we complete each other’.
Sync worked alongside Willie Elliott. 16 years ago this month, Willie was a key protagonist in the audio description at the opening of the London 2012 Paralympic Games – an unforgettable spectacle which Jenny Sealey (a Sync Alum) co-directed. It still stands as a testament to the energy and joy felt in the fusion of arts, access and activism! Telling our stories often feels like activism or acting up in some way and there’s power and celebration in that. And laughter too – where would we be without that?
Willie also shaped the live AD for 63 Days of Sit-in, both its performance and the documentary film. I mentioned disappointment in my opening sentence: when the lead actor, Hamad Samamrah, became ill during rehearsals last week in London and was unable to perform, the impact was felt deeply by us all.
Despite this the audiences still joined us and were able to connect with this powerful piece of activism through a touch tour of the set and an accessible film screening. It left us feeling closer to Hamad, even in his absence, and to his life’s work, and to the fellow disability rights activists who protested inside the Palestinian Legislative Council during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also bore witness to the incredible allyship of Hussam Ghosheh and Basta Theatre has brought to this important protest in history. We were lucky that Hamad could at least join us for the Saturday Q&A, and it’s fair to say that our lives were changed by his story and contribution and those of his co-conspirators.
It is crucial to tell our stories, and these stories emerging from the region and in Gaza – areas of exponential disablement – are more profound than we ever thought possible. As disabled people we must not shy from talking about what is happening, acting without permission to get these voices heard.
Another story perhaps more widely known is the soon to be screened Being Heumann – a film focusing on the better known life of Judith Heumann whose activism paved the way for others often described as of the ‘Mother’ of the Disability Rights Movement in the US’. The film is to be premiered at the Toronto Film Festival (10th Sept) and it features other Sync alum and associates, namely Alex Bulmer (our Sync Leadership co-facilitator) and Yousef Kadoura, who supported our Sync podcasts and promotional films in Canadian projects over several years. Our very own Ruth Madeley takes the title role as Judy, a UK export on the back of her portrayal of the brilliant Barbara Lisicki in the BBC, 2022 drama ‘When Barbara met Alan’.
But back to our Sit-In week. Alia Alzougbi CEO and Artistic Director @Shubbak in rounding up the Q&A on Friday, spurred us on with 3 crucial pieces of advice: occupy, don’t ask for permission, laugh a lot. Sublime advice for all of us! Let’s find the laughter in amongst the disappointment and challenge, and experience the empowerment solidarity brings.
63 Days of Sit-In was developed with the support of the Disability Under Siege (DUS) Network, University of Birmingham and British Council Palestine through the Jerusalem Creative Spaces programme with the London presentation supported by British Council, Wijhat (an initiative of Al Mawred Al Thaqafy – Culture Resource), SyncLeadership and Dais Hale.