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 1: Communication Withheld Sophie talks candidly about her early years as a deaf child, denied access to language and communication through an inadequate education system teaching oralism above any other form of communication. Sophie describes her rebellious teenage years and how through finding BSL and the