Jump to content Jump to main menu Jump to toolbar

EN Oh No!

6th March 2024
A bright red circle with the text Oh No written in bold white, the hand drawn font looks similar to that used by English National Opera (ENO)

Content Warning: This post includes discussion of ableism within theatre, negative depictions of mobility aid use by non-mobility aid users, and quotes from other sources that include ableist language and slurs.

Ten years ago this summer we took our first show Backstage In Biscuit Land to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh.…

Comment

Support Worker Required For Art and Adventures

1st February 2024
A photo of Jess with a support worker in a colourful installation. Jess is in her wheelchair on the right of the image wearing a bright blue tracksuit. Her support worker is on the left on the image in a bright orange t-shirt, both are masked and are surrounded by colourful streamers and spherical paper lampshades.

I’ve never written an online dating profile. I did start one once but found the mix of expectation, self-promotion, and the pressure to be funny overwhelming. So, I abandoned the idea. But I’m also finding writing this post, which has some similar qualities, quite daunting.…

Comment

Young Artist Development Programme 2024 - The Department for Wonder and Play’

8th January 2024
A digital image combining drawings and text on a dusky blue background. At the top of the image is the logo for Touretteshero’s Young Artist Development Programme the initials YADP are at the centre of the logo with stars bursting from the centre. Under this bold white text with a black shadow reads Department of Wonder and Play - this the theme for this years YADP a programme for disabled, neurodivergent and chronically ill young people.

Two years ago, we launched our Young Artists Development Programme (YADP) through which we commissioned and shared the work of 10 young disabled creatives. ‘Commissioned’ means being paid to produce a piece of artwork. It was great getting to know each artist, and to see the variety of their work took.…

Comment

Moments of Breakthrough and Breakage

31st December 2023
A digitally drawn image by Jess Thom showing a timeline of 2023 a bold black line runs centrally and horizontally across the image, along this line are the months of the year starting with January on the right and December on the left of the image. Coming off the central line both above and below it are twenty colourful circles of different sizes. Each circle represents one activity from the year. Above the line these include creative activities like Touring our new show burnt out in Biscuit Land, a children’s event called Journey to A Better World or going to the BAFTAS. Below the line are activities that are more organisational some of these are positive like becoming a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), or our Practical Intervention Fund (PIF) for other disabled people but some are less positive like Team Bereavements and illness. You can find out more about the activities on the timeline in the end of year post this image is part of.

So that’s another year done! In just a few hours we’ll say goodbye to 2023 and welcome in the New Year. For the Touretteshero team, 2023’s been a year of contrasts. We’ve had incredible moments of joy, making and touring new work and becoming an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), and Biscuitland was nominated for a BAFTA!…

Comment

“Merry Cripmas”

24th December 2023
A digital drawing by Jess Thom, at the centre of the image is bushy Christmas tree, covered in colourful decorations. Some are pretty standard like stars, paperchains, fairly lights, snowmen and glittery baubles. Some decorations are less usual and include a wheelchair, several biscuits, hedgehogs and some baubles inspired by the Palestinian flag. Under the tree are six presents each tied with a different colour ribbon. Bold outlined text at the bottom reads: Merry Cripmas. This message was inspired by a tic and uses Crip which is a reclaimed version of Cripple used by some politicised disabled people.

We’re just a day away from Christmas, a time that in addition to an abundance of fairy lights and Santa hats, can also be full of apprehension and pressure. For disabled, neurodivergent or chronically ill people this season can have extra complexities whether they’re around managing energy, social interactions, dietary requirements, navigating access barriers or coping with the many depictions of ‘Tiny Tim’!…

Comment

Neurological Solidarity

29th October 2023
A digital drawing for Gaza by Jess Thom that reads Ceasefire Now, this text is made from many small hand drawn hearts outlined in black and filled in, in red, green and white, the colours of the Palestine Flag.

I’ve had a new tic for the last few weeks. It’s frequent and consistent and leading to lots of conversations, some intense, some interesting, and some challenging.

This new tic is: “Long live Palestine, long live Gaza.”

This is a tic.…

Comment

Don’t Relax Your Commitment

26th October 2023
A digitally drawn image with Touretteshero at the centre in her blue and white superhero costume her arms open in welcome, audiences of disabled and non-disabled children and adults are visible behind her. The text reads: Do Not Relax! underneath in smaller text and in brackets it reads: [your commitment].

I love theatre, both as a performer and as an audience member, but as I’ve written and spoken about before, attending performances as someone with Tourettes isn’t always easy. It’s even harder at the moment because I’m Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) to COVID-19 and so being in busy indoor spaces with no COVID Related Access Provisions isn’t safe for me.…

Comment

In Vulnerability

21st October 2023
A digital drawing by Jess Thom of a bright yellow fruit machine, the top of the machine is rounded with marks that indicate lights forming a semicircle at the top. This semi circle section is a riot of bright colours, graphic style images and includes the words Tic Attack. There are typical depictions of fruit but also less traditional imagery like a body in motion and a speech bubble with LOS written in it, which is short for Loss of Speech. The main body of the machine has a lever on the right-hand side that spins the machine. Written across the three sections of the machine where you would expect fruit to be represented is the word vulnerability.

Today is my twelfth ‘Fitiversary’ – twelve years ago today I woke up moving about frantically and uncontrollably. I’d lost voluntary speech and was experiencing painful dystonic tics which twisted my body. These episodes had been happening on and off for a while and I’d initially referred to them as the ‘dying fish’, but twelve years ago they became a much more regular part of my life.…

Comment

The Lonely Reality of Avoiding Being Alone

22nd September 2023
A digital image by Jess Thom, black title text reads – Visualising Care, six months of care related labour. The image below is made of colourful dots each with a black outline, these are grouped by six type of labour. The biggest quantities are at the top of the image, on the left are 276 blue dots showing care communication and on the right 136 green dots show cover. Below these are four smaller groupings of dots, yellow for care admin, red for disruption, black for support gaps and the smallest number of 30 dots is purple representing relationship strain.

As someone who requires skilled support 24 hours a day I’m never really on my own – but if I am it’s because I’ve failed. Failed, that is, to meet my most basic need, the continuous presence of someone who can keep me safe, someone who can administer emergency medication if necessary, who can prevent friction burns from my repetitive movements, or who can turn me over so I can breathe.…

Comment

The Joy of the Journey

4th September 2023
A photo with Jess Thom, a white wheelchair-using woman at the centre. She's dressed in a red and blue flight-suit and a face mask. Jess is joyfully encased inside a giant bubble. The word "TELEPORT" is prominently displayed in the background. The photo has a playful tone and is part of a space-themed installation titled "Journey To A Better World.

I’m tired, in a deep kind of way. On its own this might not seem noteworthy because I experience fatigue and energy-related barriers every day. But this tiredness is different because although my body is physically drained, my mind, heart and spirit are energised in new and joyful ways.…

Comment

Important Message

This site contains an extensive record of genuine Tourettes Syndrome vocal tics which may be sexually explicit, contain strong language or may generally be on an adult theme. It may include material which some may find offensive. For that reason, we do not allow anyone under 18 years to enter our site. Nor should you enter if such material might offend you.

Touretteshero offers a SafeMode filter that removes swearing and adult content from the site. To do this it is necessary for us to place a ‘cookie’ on your computer. We also use ‘cookies’ to link to Twitter, to remember your login preferences, and to record how many people have visited the site. By clicking a button below you are agreeing to cookies being used. For more detailed information on the use of cookies please read our privacy policy.

…