The Essay

A very personal essay series about communication, listening, performance and British Sign Language (BSL).Sophie Stone considers her own life, career as an actor and identity as a Deaf person, through the role of communication, both spoken and in BSL. Hers is an unusual and vivid life – she was sometimes homeless as a child, became a young single mother, broke new ground as the first deaf acting student at RADA, enjoys a successful actor career, and maintains strong activist roots.Each essay describes a formative stage in Sophie’s life and career, incorporating historical figures, the challenges and achievements of deaf and hard of hearing people since the 19th century and her own personal experience. Essay 3: Visibility of Communication Sophie talks candidly about the fear and isolation she felt as a deaf child, how seeing other deaf people, finding a community experiencing the world in similar ways, encouraged her to realise she was not alone. In challenging limiting beliefs and fighting for Deaf rights, So