This project has already begun with a research grant from the Welcome trust. With this grant a film is being made. To be completed by the end of 2006.

Background on the film.

The project sought to explore the lived experience of neurological impairment with a novel immediacy and proximity. In the past there have been memorable portrayals of impairment in biographical books and in theatre and film. Our approach has been, rather than to work with subjects and then portray them in a finished work, to actually film the process of learning to portray them as patients and actors build a relationship and one learns from the other. Within this, we felt, was important information not always available in finished studies.

We formed a group of Jonathan Cole as neuroscientist, and Lucia Walker and Andrew Dawson as ‘actors’. They work in performance theatre and dance, though both are also authorities in movement, being Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais experts. We felt that having subjects with an enduring expertise in and knowledge of movement would allow a greater understanding of impairments in movement within neurology. The quartet was completed by Chris Rawlence as director and editor. He has an international reputation for documentary, including neurological ones with VS Ramachandran and Oliver Sacks. He also is a director of Rosetta Life, a groundbreaking organisation which gives those with progressive and incurable disease an opportunity to communicate through a variety of media.

The project considered several possible approaches to neurological impairment and in the end went to see several people with impairments of movement at profound levels, from spinal cord injury (SCI), MS and Motor Neuron Disease (MND) In the end we filmed Deborah with SCI and little movement from the upper arm down and reduced/altered sensation, and Michael who had MND and was left without movement at all below the head but who had intact sensation.

We filmed two subjects over three days. We were for one day with Deborah in her home in Exmouth, as she explained how active living from a wheelchair actually is, with all the balance involved and compromises required. She also has an implanted device which gives her use of a grip in her hand, via a remote computer controlled from her own movement of the opposite shoulder. This allowed us to explore relationships between intention and movement in a new way.

We filmed Michael over two days in a hospice in South London. Though immobile he related his experiences with enormous vitality. To be paralysed and yet with normal sensation for instance is an aspect of MND seldom considered. He was a musician, for instance, and told us how, when hearing music once paralysed, he ‘saw’ the music on a page and ‘felt’ his immobile hands and fingers were playing it. We then illustrated this by filming Michael and our group with a cellist, so allowing us to explore his own experience more explicitly.

Future live exploration.

The project so far has been deeply rewarding and inspiring and we hope that other projects will be born out of our process. Andrew is he will take what we have explored and translate it into a theatrical presentation and/or installation. To this end he will research and develop the ideas and themes presented through both Deborah and Michael with a small group of experienced performers. How can we learn about movement through the experiences of those who can’t move? Can an audience leave the theatre with a new understanding and a sensation of their own individual movement?

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