See Hear

Magazine for the deaf community highlighting the latest issues.

To celebrate Deafinitely Theatre's 20th birthday, Charlotte Arrowsmith takes a trip down memory lane to learn more about its history and how it was founded. Charlotte hears from fellow actors about how Deafinitely Theatre helped to launch their career, and in an interview with Paula Garfield, we hear Paula's vision for the future of the institution. Charlotte also joins the cast of Deafinitely's latest production, Everyday, during their rehearsals to find out the significance of the play that has been chosen to celebrate this milestone birthday.

Yvonne and Julian welcome their first guest in person since 2020's lockdown, Sign Language Interaction's project manager Russell Cooke. Russell tells Yvonne and Julian more about the 999 BSL's launch in June, making it the first ever BSL emergency video relay service.

To celebrate National Children's Gardening Week, keen gardener Andrew Clifton gives us some pointers on how to make gardening fun and interactive for the little ones and shows us how to make useful things for the garden using recycled tins - an activity that will be popular with children.

Finally, we pay a tribute to Frances Elton, who was recognised as the foremost deaf BSL teacher-training and BSL linguistics trainer in the UK. Friends and work colleagues share memories and anecdotes about Frances' life and career.

Mia Edward heads to Wolverhampton for Deaffest, the UK's leading deaf-led film and arts festival, and taking place for the first time since lockdown. Mia meets young Deaffest ambassador Danny Murphy to find out what the future looks like for young deaf people in the film and television industry. She also learns more about the festival's history and the vision that organisers Nikki Stratton and Marilyn Woolrich uphold.

Back in the studio, Yvonne and Julian meet Dr Nancy Barker, the first deaf zoologist to earn a PhD in conservation, to learn more about her work, what inspired her and some of her favourite moments during her career. They also learn the impact that climate change is having on our ecosystem and wildlife.

Glasgow Athletic Deaf Football are celebrating their 150th birthday, making them the oldest deaf football club in the world. Mark MacQueen joins the club as they host an 11-a-side tournament to celebrate the club's birthday.

Yvonne finds out more about menopause and the barriers to accessing information and treatment for deaf people. She also looks into why there's not enough knowledge or information shared about menopause, despite it being something that all those who have periods go through.

Back in the studio, Yvonne and Julian meet with Rebecca Mansell, CEO of the British Deaf Association, Gavin Lilley, who set up the BSL Watchdog Facebook group, Stephen Hall and Zanna Finnerty from the Makaton charity, and Tracy Goode from Signalong. They discuss the BDA's recently published statement on concerns regarding the exponential growth in online content created by hearing people using 'sign-supported communication systems' or 'language programmes' that incorporate signs such as Signalong, Makaton and Baby Signs.

Finally, there's a meeting with Sarah O'Dowd, a landscape artist from Northumberland, who says that ‘soundlessness intensifies her visual response'.

Radha Starr learns how the numbers of calls to domestic abuse services increased sharply during the pandemic, confirming that domestic abuse is still a serious issue that affects many people, including the deaf community. However, deaf people struggle to access information and reach out for help. Through personal stories told through actors and an interview with SignHealth, Radha learns about what steps need to be taken to ensure that deaf people are receiving the same support as their hearing peers.

Yvonne and Julian meet Emily Howlett and Ciaran Stewart to discuss their work as a BSL director and actor respectively for a performance of Much Ado About Nothing at Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Yvonne and Julian discuss the complex process of translating Shakespeare to BSL with Emily and Ciaran.

And Yvonne is back in the kitchen to give us some tips on how to save money in light of living costs soaring. She shows how to make a scrumptious, healthy chickpea curry using tinned food from the cupboards.

See Hear pays a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving British monarch, by highlighting members of the deaf community who met her through their work, achievements or through the presentation of MBEs or OBEs. Plus more about the Queen's achievements and how she touched many people's lives.

In the studio, Yvonne and Julian meet Daniel Clements, operation manager for the Royal Association for the Deaf, to discuss how RAD was the only deaf organisation with the Queen's patronage.

Nathan Rollinson learns more about the life of Princess Alice of Battenberg, the mother of Prince Phillip. In an interview with historian John Wilson, Nathan finds out more about the tragic life of Princess Alice, who was deaf, and how she lived through both World Wars, escaped from a mental health institution and renounced all her wealth before she died to set up an orphanage.

Alison Wherry-Alimo explores the lack of support for deaf people with a gambling addiction and the consequences this has. Alison meets experts to talk about what specialist support is needed and learns more about gambling addiction from deaf people themselves.

Yvonne and Julian meet Gavin Lilley, a comedian who appears on ITV's John and Joe Bishop: Life After Deaf. Gavin shares his experience of teaching John how to sign his comedy sketches. Gavin also shares his experience of becoming a standup comedian and explains how he creates his materials.

With Halloween just gone, Damaris Cooke is back with a group of friends to explore a haunted house in London on a quest to meet a ghost. How successful will the ghost hunt be?

In a celebration of the festive season, Yvonne and Julian are joined by presenters William Grint and Radha Starr to remotely put on the annual pantomime. 2022's panto is The Wizard of Oz, with Yvonne as Dorothy, Julian as the Lion, William as the Scarecrow and Radha as the Good Witch.

Colin Thomson returns to the studio, having appeared on the Christmas episode of See Hear nearly 40 years ago. Colin talks about the process of translating songs to BSL.

And Yvonne and Julian are coached by Colin to perform Shakin' Stevens's classic song Merry Christmas Everyone, with the aim of creating their very own music video. How will they fare?

A special episode that looks back at 2022 and its highs and lows, including the passing of the BSL Act, the invasion of Ukraine, the explosion of deaf representation on the silver screen and the passing of the Queen.

Yvonne and Julian are at Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park to see the Christmas lights, and later on, they interview actress Amy Murray, who appears in in Netflix's The Witcher: Blood Origin as Fenrik.

Meanwhile, Damaris Cooke reports on how the England deaf futsal women's team has made history by becoming European champions in October and meets captain Emma Brown and manager Marios Costi, as well as some of the players, to find out more about their journey to gold.

See Hear heads to Edinburgh, with William Grint visitin the largest arts festival in the world, the Edinburgh Fringe. Along the way, William meets Phillip Gerrard from Deaf Action to discover how they are working alongside the Fringe to create a unique festival, the Edinburgh Deaf Festival, celebrating deaf culture, language and heritage.

With Scotland's breathtaking hills and beautiful coastline within an hour's reach of the city, William joins wild camping expert Ross Grant as they take a walk on the wild side in the ancient Pentland Hills south west of the city. And his final stop is the beautiful coastal town of North Berwick, where he's joined by enthusiastic sea Kayaker Natalie Greenall for a sea kayaking adventure.

William Grint takes a deep dive into the archives from the past five years and counts down his top five action-packed See Hear On Tour moments. He also takes on his own challenge as William attempts to reach the summit of Corn Du, a mountain that sits 2,864ft above sea level in the beautiful Brecon Beacons. But will he reach the top?

As William begins his challenge, he looks back on so many incredible adventures both here in the UK and around the world, including Rosie Benn's visit to the Finnish forests of Kakskerta in Finland, ghyll scrambling in the Lake District and Nadeem Islam's trip to Penrhyn Quarry in North Wales.

Julian Peedle-Calloo takes us on a journey through the ages via archive footage, demonstrating the evolution of deaf representation on the silver screen. He examines deaf connections to the origins of film, the sense of equality found during the silent era, the decline of deaf acting and filmgoing in the wake of the 'talkies', the improving situation since the 1960s and the explosion of deaf talent in the 21st century.

Julian also explores how deaf British talent navigates the modern-day film industry through interviews with agents/consultants Deaf Talent Collective, actress Nadia Nadarajah and social media star Jazzy Whipps.

Yvonne Cobb and her mother, Davinia, are exploring care options available for elderly deaf people in the UK. They are shocked to find that there is only one specialist care homes for elderly BSL users remaining in the UK. Why is this?

Yvonne visits the Netherlands' De Gelderhorst, which houses 200 deaf residents, to learn about the way funding and provisions are put in place there. Back in the UK, she learns about the lack of proper provisions and the ways the deaf community is shouldering the burden of care for its elderly, and looks into the calls for more support and funding from the government.

To celebrate Valentine's Day, Yvonne and Julian hear the stories of couples from all over the UK about how they met and what makes their relationship work.

Meanwhile, in the studio, they meet actress Rhiannon May to learn more about her experience as a regular character on Silent Witness who uses British Sign Language.

And, in readiness for the warmer months, wild water enthusiast Sophia Cummings takes us out into the wild and gives advice on how to safely start wild-water swimming.

Spring is in the air, and Yvonne and Julian have a treat for sports enthusiasts.

A 'new signing initiative' has been set up by BT Sport and EE to provide BSL commentary on a range of live sport, including the UEFA Champion's League Final in June. One of the two new commentators is joining them in the studio – and it's none other than See Hear reporter Damaris Cooke!

Reporter Jay Thomas-Morton is in the Midlands with a group who have taken on a very weighty task: to translate the Bible into BSL.

And Radha Starr investigates problems with alcohol misuse in the deaf community, finding out what help is available for those who need it.