Filmmaker Beth Richards was inspired to make a funny yet powerful film about why it is difficult for people with learning disabilities to get on television, which she hopes will make those in the industry give them a fair chance
There aren’t enough people with learning disabilities on television.
My animation, The Audition, shows the barriers they meet right from the start of the process when they try to go to auditions.
There are simple things people in the arts can do to be more inclusive once they give it some thought.
I was a research associate at the University of Bristol. When they asked what I wanted to find out about, I said I was interested in why I don’t see more people with learning disabilities on television.
After I had done my research, I wanted to share my findings in a fun, visual way that would make people think.
I was able to make it because I had such good support to help me with my ideas. I worked with a research partner at the university during the whole project.
Getting through the door
I hope people who see The Audition will be amused but afterwards remember the image of my character’s body unravelling.
This is how it feels when people speak to you in jargon or technical language, when you realise no one has thought about accessibility and are not really giving you a fair chance.
Hopefully, they’ll also use the tips at the end of the film.
A lot of people who have seen the film say the unravelling body is powerful, as it shows how disabled people can feel when they are excluded. People with learning disabilities might find the film helps them explain how they feel if adjustments they need to be included aren’t made.
Messages through film
I’ve been in Bristol’s Misfits Theatre Company for years and we have been filmed quite a bit.
We have explained the findings of the 2013 Confidential Inquiry into Premature Deaths of People with Learning Disabilities, carried out at the Norah Fry Research Centre at the University of Bristol. This discusses how “health is everybody’s responsibility” for NHS England – health professionals must recognise they must provide the same level of care to people with learning disabilities as to others, and not make rapid assumptions about quality of life or the appropriateness of medical or social care interventions.
The Misfits company also looked at the importance of good working relationships between people with learning disabilities and their personal assistants or support workers in our short film A Good Match (https://tinyurl.com/y68rnqx7).
I also made a short film, I Hate You, Jargon!, which shows a meeting get out of control, which has been described as “Beth Richard’s passionate rant against use of jargon”. In it, I say: “Get rid of the jargon that you speak. On and on and on it goes … For God’s sake, speak in easy English, and make sense!” (https://vimeo. com/246467274).
We’re always thinking of ways to get messages across clearly. I found I was comfortable in front of the camera and like the way film can be accessible to everyone.
I interviewed people at the Oska Bright Film Festival for part of my research. We asked David Parker from Carousel, the company that organises the event, for feedback on the leaflets we made about the film project. He was very supportive.
As part of that conversation, he invited me to take part in a panel discussion and show my film at the 2019 festival, which is how I came to screen The Audition and talk about it at the co-production session this year.
People from around the world were there – it was a great way to tell them about the research and about what needs to change.
This article is adapted from Too Few People with Learning Disabilities are on Television – So Let’s Make Auditions Accessible, published by Learning Disability Today at https://tinyurl.com/w7oeeqy
Richards B, Steel M, Mason-Angelow V (2018) Actors with Learning Disabilities Say: “Give us More Roles on TV”. Policy Report 31. University of Bristol.
View The Audition and read the full report and an easy-read version at: https://tinyurl.com/ t7dac96
