Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.

If you want to understand the emotional end intellectual malaise of British politics, this piece by @mjrobbins.com is a pretty good place to start. It effectively describes a country that has gone mad. open.substack.com/pub/martinro...

Edinburgh International Festival & Birds of Paradise are investigating ways of improving access to live music for d/Deaf audiences Join a focus group to discuss what works & what doesn't. www.instagram.com/reel/DP3UHpG...

What's your sign?

A dementia charity that provides professional theatre to those in care is developing a toolkit to help others make their shows more accessible 👇

Has anyone got an absolutely must see #edfringe show they want to tell me about? Not your own show but something you've seen. My final Sunday is wide open.

Have seen 7 shows so far this August and the best by far is Dance People. On until Sunday and still tickets left. www.eif.co.uk/events/dance...

Barriers to access in theatre are broader than the industry ever acknowledges. Broader than many of us with access support needs acknowledge. I'm posting about this on Substack - come join the conversation. jenifertoksvig.substack.com/p/barriers-t...

In a new article for the RSA, Will Snell argues that we should bust the myth of meritocracy, and acknowledge the outsized role that luck plays in all of our lives- as well as the impacts of the structural barriers holding people back. Read the full article here: www.thersa.org/rsa-journal/...

ICYMI: Current recipients of Personal Independence Payments and the health element of universal credit are no longer facing cuts to their financial support following a U-turn from Keir Starmer 👇

ICYMI: Touretteshero co-founder Jess Thom has revealed her theatre company has paused its creative programming to weather a cut to her share of a fund that helps disabled people get and keep jobs 👇

This is a concentration camp

Absolutely right @andyburnham.bsky.social 👏

There's a national firestorm over Bob Vylan's chants about a genocidal army. Rather than about the mass butchery of innocent people. It is depraved, it is grotesque, it is beyond shameful. New column about the world turned on its head 👇 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The sacrifices that freelancers make to participate in self-funded events chimes with the wider issue of unpaid work in the industry, says Joe Gilmour in The Stage... www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/ineq... #FreelancersMakeTheatreWork #Theatre #UKTheatre #UKArts #SaveTheArts

Applications are open for BUZZCUT Emerging Artist Award, a year-long opportunity for two Scotland-based performance makers at the start of their journey buff.ly/oQDQAH0 (deadline - 4 July 2025)

👥 For Deaf, Deafblind & CODA young people (ages 11–21) 📅 7th–11th July 📍 Glasgow 🚨 Only 20 places available — don’t miss out! Email: [email protected] or head over to the Solar Bear website. #DeafYouthTheatre #DYTSummerProject #FantasyAndFiction #CreativeYouth #GlasgowEvents #DeafCreatives

How can I not work, when I want to? Our Trainee Artistic Director, Tam Gilbert, writes about the potential Access to Work changes and how this could lead to the extermination of disabled people at work. extant.org.uk/the-extermin...

"Despite actively acknowledging that creative work is being stolen at scale, the government chose once again to remove transparency provisions... allowing the tech sector to continue to rob the creative industries blind. It is as cynical as it is bewildering." www.thestage.co.uk/news/news/cu...

Join award-winning playwright and mentor Lynda Radley at the Traverse for a course of four free workshops about building a sustainable writing practice. Deadline: 5pm, Friday 11th July Find out more: playwrightsstudio.co.uk/staying-crea... @playwrightsstudio.bsky.social‬

Israeli settlers from illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank attacked a Palestinian village, setting houses on fire while families were inside. Israeli soldiers then turned up & shot the Palestinians who were trying to rescue people from their homes. Nour Odeh reporting

The government’s disability cuts will have a “devastating” impact on women’s health and dignity and could breach equality law, experts warn. The new rules won’t take into account menstruation or some women’s extra toilet requirements. My exclusive: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

On LBC @zoejardiniere.bsky.social lists 3 previous instances where military aircraft have been targeted by campaigners in order to prevent them being used in war crimes, and she describes the govt banning Palestine Action as terrorists as an abuse of state power. Well said.

I'm looking for a disabled animator for a project. Can anybody point to some good folk?

New event: Arts Professional: Arts Pay survey 2025 from Arts Professional and Baker Richards. Tell us how you experience work in the arts - from pay, access and precarity to equity and workplace culture. Take part in our latest survey.

Abundance! www.fastcompany.com/91307514/ice...

The most striking thing about the LA protests is how many people just dropped everything to show up and yell at federal agents. There are people in suits, and carrying dogs, and wearing flip flops or bike helmets. These are not people who planned to do this today. But there they are.

Visit the new #TakingThePIP website to view the open letter and learn how you can join the campaign to halt the Government's proposed disability benefit cuts takingthepip.co.uk

Slowly but surely this service - to support arts orgs use less new materials in creative work, by sharing existing resources more effectively - is taking shape. Contact them to learn how it could help you.

We have released a statement on the impact of recent proposed policy changes & benefits reform within the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper. graeae.org/resource/gra... Our community cannot & should not take this further assault on civil liberties!

This is devastating news! Jess has made an incredible contribution to the sector, both as an artist and as an activist and advocate, and I have spoken to many disabled artists who speak of her as a major inspiration for their own careers. I hope a suitable resolution can be found asap.

📣 ATTENTION: @fedscottheatre.bsky.social Members! 📣 We are delighted to announce that this Thursday 29th May, we will be launching our first Access and Creative Principles Toolkit, a resource for individuals and organisations with guidance on working with learning-disabled adults.

Applications are open to the Scottish Government's Climate Emergency Fund which can support events, festivals, participatory arts and youth programmes to help people understand how climate change affects their lives and what actions they can take buff.ly/NCZUA2t (deadline - 8 June 2025)

The Access Culture survey by @indigo-ltd.com provides crucial insight as All In prepares to roll out later this year. Read more: bit.ly/4lkavfn

We all need to get around, but in the UK many disabled people like us are blocked from travelling because of large gaps and steps between the train and the platform. Level boarding solves that issue, so stations are more accessible to everyone - accessibility should be standard.

The thrift store / charity shop game in Rotterdam is spectacular, gonna be sad to not be visiting here as much in the future.

I found Bottoms to be a blend of punchy choreography and quietly comic moments of reflection, with a completely unexpected ending that I thought was a cherry on the cake.

🇨🇭 Hope and Ponies is headed to Switzerland! This installation of banners from Two Destination Language and Nadia Sokolenko, brings together hopes from around the world. 🗓️ Wednesday 7 - Sunday 18 May 📍auawirleben Theaterfestival Bern, Switzerland 🔗 Find out more: bit.ly/4cpIFtl

A lot to enjoy with this show but what I especially enjoyed was the access introduction, playful and in keeping with the conceit of the show, but also informative and welcoming, to the whole audience, bringing everyone on to the same level. I hope this is a device we will begin to see more and more.

Trans women desperately need more visibility in UK theatre, writes actor and writer Mariah Louca 👇

Trans men’s insight on this is so fucking valuable in understanding the nuances of what’s going on with men. We need to be amplifying them, and hopefully cis men can realize what is actually the source of their loneliness.

There are 3000+ shows in the #edfringe, but no way to find those led by women and people of marginalised genders in the website or print programme. Enter: the #FemiFringe Guide! Register your show by Saturday 31 May to be included in our 4th edition. bit.ly/FemiFringe

Saw all three of these shows on Sat, in a very enjoyable afternoon. All three were excellent in their own way but Dani Heron's performance in Alright Sunshine was the stand out moment for me, a real stupefying moment of powerful delivery that was compelling, heart-breaking and enraging!

Leading dance organisations have formed a working group to address the lack of representation and leadership opportunities for people living with disabilities in the dance sector. -Via Arts Professional. www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/fea... #FreelancersMakeTheatreWork

if you’re trans/non binary/genderqueer and work in the arts in the uk, hello! i run a bespoke access rider service and im offering free sessions for you. i can help create a work-with-me document to support your medical/social transition, your workplace safety, and access needs if you have them.

Culture pays! Since 2009, UK City of Culture winners have seen £1bn+ in local investment, 22% tourism growth, boosted cultural funding & civic pride. A new report from Warwick Business School breaks it down- assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67fce7... #FreelancersMakeTheatreWork

STATEMENT FROM ENGLISH FOLK DANCE AND SONG SOCIETY

The reality 👇

The queuing system for the bus from Ed Airport to Glasgow is absolute carnage. How have they not managed to come up with a better system by now.

ICYMI: Just TWO DAYS left to express your interest in auditioning to join our Ensemble! Auditions are due to take place on Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th May, and full details can be found here: www.lungha.com/2025/04/audi...