Listen Harder

Title

First
Broadcast

Comments

Communication Withheld

20221128

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 language of theatre, she began to find deeper more authentic ways to communicate.

Listen Harder broadcast on BBC Radio 3 will be accompanied by an animated transcript and BSL translation on BBC Sounds website, increasing accessibility.

Sophie Stone is a leading actor who grew up in east London and has been deaf since birth. She was the first Deaf student at RADA. Since graduating, theatre includes: Othello (The Watermill Theatre); The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (NT/Frantic Assembly Tour); The Living Newspaper (The Royal Court); The New Tomorrow (The Young Vic); The Beauty Parade (Wales Millennium Centre); As You Like It (Shakespeare's Globe); Emilia (Shakespeare's Globe/ West End); Jubilee (Lyric, Hammersmith/ Manchester Royal Exchange); The Greatest Wealth (The Old Vic); Herons (Lyric, Hammersmith); Mother Courage and Her Children (National Theatre); and In Water I'm Weightless (National Theatre of Wales). Television includes: The Chelsea Detective (2), Moving On, Two Doors Down (2), Shakespeare & Hathaway, Shetland, The Crown, Doctor Who, Mapp and Lucia, Moonstone, Marchlands, Midsomer Murders (2), Small World, Holby City, Casualty (2) and FM. Film includes: Name Me Lawand, Retreat (Sophie was awarded Best Actress Award, Clin d'Oeil Festival), My Christmas Angel, Confessions and Coming Home.

She is co-founder of the Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company, associate Artist for The Watermill Theatre, Pentabus Theatre and works as a consultant for several TV, Film and Theatre companies.

Sophie had a lead role in Beethoven Can Hear You for BBC Radio 3 in 2020. Her essay for Radio 3 in 2020 for the Five Kinds of Beethoven series, was a critical success. It was accompanied by an animated transcript to increase accessibility.

Writer and reader Sophie Stone

Recording engineer Mat Clarke at Sonica Studios

Sound designer Eloise Whitmore

Producers Polly Thomas and Mina Anwar

A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3

Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.

Forms Of Communication

20221129

A very personal essay series about communication, listening, performance and British Sign Language (BSL).

Essay 2: Forms of Communication

Sophie looks at different forms of communication, and how her relationship to sounds and her other senses and has shaped her work as a deaf actor. She talks about the challenges and possibilities of shaping a more authentic representation of disability on stage and screen. The essay explores the ways deaf artists have perceived their own deafness and how this impacts their own creativity.

Listen Harder broadcast on BBC Radio 3 will be accompanied by an animated transcript and BSL translation on BBC Sounds website, increasing accessibility.

Sophie Stone is a leading actor who grew up in east London and has been deaf since birth. She was the first deaf student at RADA. Since graduating, theatre includes: Othello (The Watermill Theatre); The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (NT/Frantic Assembly Tour); The Living Newspaper (The Royal Court); The New Tomorrow (The Young Vic); The Beauty Parade (Wales Millennium Centre); As You Like It (Shakespeare's Globe); Emilia (Shakespeare's Globe/ West End); Jubilee (Lyric, Hammersmith/ Manchester Royal Exchange); The Greatest Wealth (The Old Vic); Herons (Lyric, Hammersmith); Mother Courage and Her Children (National Theatre); and In Water I'm Weightless (National Theatre of Wales). Television includes: The Chelsea Detective (2), Moving On, Two Doors Down (2), Shakespeare & Hathaway, Shetland, The Crown, Doctor Who, Mapp and Lucia, Moonstone, Marchlands, Midsomer Murders (2), Small World, Holby City, Casualty (2) and FM. Film includes: Name Me Lawand, Retreat (Sophie was awarded Best Actress Award, Clin d'Oeil Festival), My Christmas Angel, Confessions and Coming Home.

She is co-founder of the Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company, associate Artist for The Watermill Theatre, Pentabus Theatre and works as a consultant for several TV, Film and Theatre companies.

Writer and reader Sophie Stone

Recording engineer Mat Clarke at Sonica Studios

Sound designer Eloise Whitmore

Producers Polly Thomas and Mina Anwar

A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.

Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.

Ownership Of Communication

20221201

A very personal essay series about communication, listening, performance and British Sign Language (BSL).

Essay 4: Ownership of Communication

Sophie talks about finding and owning her authentic voice. She discusses her years as an actor in a profession that sadly lacked space for disabled actors to own their own experiences without being seen as less than able. Sophie explores a brief history of Sign Language from around the world and its importance as a vital communication tool.

Listen Harder broadcast on BBC Radio 3 will be accompanied by an animated transcript and BSL translation on BBC Sounds website, increasing accessibility.

She is co-founder of the Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company, associate Artist for The Watermill Theatre, Pentabus Theatre and works as a consultant for several TV, Film and Theatre companies.

Writer and reader Sophie Stone

Recording engineer Mat Clarke at Sonica Studios

Sound designer Eloise Whitmore

Producers Polly Thomas and Mina Anwar

A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3

Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.

Unspoken Communication

20221202

A very personal essay series about communication, listening, performance and British Sign Language (BSL).

Essay 5: Unspoken Communication

Sophie eloquently speaks about being the child of addicts and finding a safe place to express emotions in the theatre. She talks about her relationship to her absent father and her unspoken grief held in silence after his death.

Listen Harder broadcast on BBC Radio 3 will be accompanied by an animated transcript and BSL translation on BBC Sounds website, increasing accessibility.

Sophie Stone is a leading actor who grew up in east London and has been Deaf since birth. She was the first deaf student at RADA. Since graduating, theatre includes: Othello (The Watermill Theatre); The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (NT/Frantic Assembly Tour); The Living Newspaper (The Royal Court); The New Tomorrow (The Young Vic); The Beauty Parade (Wales Millennium Centre); As You Like It (Shakespeare's Globe); Emilia (Shakespeare's Globe/ West End); Jubilee (Lyric, Hammersmith/ Manchester Royal Exchange); The Greatest Wealth (The Old Vic); Herons (Lyric, Hammersmith); Mother Courage and Her Children (National Theatre); and In Water I'm Weightless (National Theatre of Wales). Television includes: The Chelsea Detective (2), Moving On, Two Doors Down (2), Shakespeare & Hathaway, Shetland, The Crown, Doctor Who, Mapp and Lucia, Moonstone, Marchlands, Midsomer Murders (2), Small World, Holby City, Casualty (2) and FM. Film includes: Name Me Lawand, Retreat (Sophie was awarded Best Actress Award, Clin d'Oeil Festival), My Christmas Angel, Confessions and Coming Home.

She is co-founder of the Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company, associate Artist for The Watermill Theatre, Pentabus Theatre and works as a consultant for several TV, Film and Theatre companies.

Writer and reader Sophie Stone

Recording engineer Mat Clarke at Sonica Studios

Sound designer Eloise Whitmore

Producers Polly Thomas and Mina Anwar

A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3

Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.

Visibility As Communication

20221130

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.

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, Sophie describes finding the courage to carve out new pathways and opportunities in her life and career, creating opportunities for deaf voices to be integral to the creative process, and carving space for deafness to be made visible.

Listen Harder broadcast on BBC Radio 3 will be accompanied by an animated transcript and BSL translation on BBC Sounds website, increasing accessibility.

She is co-founder of the Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company, associate Artist for The Watermill Theatre, Pentabus Theatre and works as a consultant for several TV, Film and Theatre companies.

Writer and reader Sophie Stone

Recording engineer Mat Clarke at Sonica Studios

Sound designer Eloise Whitmore

Producers Polly Thomas and Mina Anwar

A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3

Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.

Episodes

Title	First Broadcast	Comments
Communication Withheld	20221128	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 language of theatre, she began to find deeper more authentic ways to communicate. Listen Harder broadcast on BBC Radio 3 will be accompanied by an animated transcript and BSL translation on BBC Sounds website, increasing accessibility. Sophie Stone is a leading actor who grew up in east London and has been deaf since birth. She was the first Deaf student at RADA. Since graduating, theatre includes: Othello (The Watermill Theatre); The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (NT/Frantic Assembly Tour); The Living Newspaper (The Royal Court); The New Tomorrow (The Young Vic); The Beauty Parade (Wales Millennium Centre); As You Like It (Shakespeare's Globe); Emilia (Shakespeare's Globe/ West End); Jubilee (Lyric, Hammersmith/ Manchester Royal Exchange); The Greatest Wealth (The Old Vic); Herons (Lyric, Hammersmith); Mother Courage and Her Children (National Theatre); and In Water I'm Weightless (National Theatre of Wales). Television includes: The Chelsea Detective (2), Moving On, Two Doors Down (2), Shakespeare & Hathaway, Shetland, The Crown, Doctor Who, Mapp and Lucia, Moonstone, Marchlands, Midsomer Murders (2), Small World, Holby City, Casualty (2) and FM. Film includes: Name Me Lawand, Retreat (Sophie was awarded Best Actress Award, Clin d'Oeil Festival), My Christmas Angel, Confessions and Coming Home. She is co-founder of the Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company, associate Artist for The Watermill Theatre, Pentabus Theatre and works as a consultant for several TV, Film and Theatre companies. Sophie had a lead role in Beethoven Can Hear You for BBC Radio 3 in 2020. Her essay for Radio 3 in 2020 for the Five Kinds of Beethoven series, was a critical success. It was accompanied by an animated transcript to increase accessibility. Writer and reader Sophie Stone Recording engineer Mat Clarke at Sonica Studios Sound designer Eloise Whitmore Producers Polly Thomas and Mina Anwar A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3 Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.
Forms Of Communication	20221129	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 2: Forms of Communication Sophie looks at different forms of communication, and how her relationship to sounds and her other senses and has shaped her work as a deaf actor. She talks about the challenges and possibilities of shaping a more authentic representation of disability on stage and screen. The essay explores the ways deaf artists have perceived their own deafness and how this impacts their own creativity. Listen Harder broadcast on BBC Radio 3 will be accompanied by an animated transcript and BSL translation on BBC Sounds website, increasing accessibility. Sophie Stone is a leading actor who grew up in east London and has been deaf since birth. She was the first deaf student at RADA. Since graduating, theatre includes: Othello (The Watermill Theatre); The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (NT/Frantic Assembly Tour); The Living Newspaper (The Royal Court); The New Tomorrow (The Young Vic); The Beauty Parade (Wales Millennium Centre); As You Like It (Shakespeare's Globe); Emilia (Shakespeare's Globe/ West End); Jubilee (Lyric, Hammersmith/ Manchester Royal Exchange); The Greatest Wealth (The Old Vic); Herons (Lyric, Hammersmith); Mother Courage and Her Children (National Theatre); and In Water I'm Weightless (National Theatre of Wales). Television includes: The Chelsea Detective (2), Moving On, Two Doors Down (2), Shakespeare & Hathaway, Shetland, The Crown, Doctor Who, Mapp and Lucia, Moonstone, Marchlands, Midsomer Murders (2), Small World, Holby City, Casualty (2) and FM. Film includes: Name Me Lawand, Retreat (Sophie was awarded Best Actress Award, Clin d'Oeil Festival), My Christmas Angel, Confessions and Coming Home. She is co-founder of the Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company, associate Artist for The Watermill Theatre, Pentabus Theatre and works as a consultant for several TV, Film and Theatre companies. Sophie had a lead role in Beethoven Can Hear You for BBC Radio 3 in 2020. Her essay for Radio 3 in 2020 for the Five Kinds of Beethoven series, was a critical success. It was accompanied by an animated transcript to increase accessibility. Writer and reader Sophie Stone Recording engineer Mat Clarke at Sonica Studios Sound designer Eloise Whitmore Producers Polly Thomas and Mina Anwar A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3. Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.
Ownership Of Communication	20221201	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 4: Ownership of Communication Sophie talks about finding and owning her authentic voice. She discusses her years as an actor in a profession that sadly lacked space for disabled actors to own their own experiences without being seen as less than able. Sophie explores a brief history of Sign Language from around the world and its importance as a vital communication tool. Listen Harder broadcast on BBC Radio 3 will be accompanied by an animated transcript and BSL translation on BBC Sounds website, increasing accessibility. Sophie Stone is a leading actor who grew up in east London and has been deaf since birth. She was the first deaf student at RADA. Since graduating, theatre includes: Othello (The Watermill Theatre); The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (NT/Frantic Assembly Tour); The Living Newspaper (The Royal Court); The New Tomorrow (The Young Vic); The Beauty Parade (Wales Millennium Centre); As You Like It (Shakespeare's Globe); Emilia (Shakespeare's Globe/ West End); Jubilee (Lyric, Hammersmith/ Manchester Royal Exchange); The Greatest Wealth (The Old Vic); Herons (Lyric, Hammersmith); Mother Courage and Her Children (National Theatre); and In Water I'm Weightless (National Theatre of Wales). Television includes: The Chelsea Detective (2), Moving On, Two Doors Down (2), Shakespeare & Hathaway, Shetland, The Crown, Doctor Who, Mapp and Lucia, Moonstone, Marchlands, Midsomer Murders (2), Small World, Holby City, Casualty (2) and FM. Film includes: Name Me Lawand, Retreat (Sophie was awarded Best Actress Award, Clin d'Oeil Festival), My Christmas Angel, Confessions and Coming Home. She is co-founder of the Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company, associate Artist for The Watermill Theatre, Pentabus Theatre and works as a consultant for several TV, Film and Theatre companies. Sophie had a lead role in Beethoven Can Hear You for BBC Radio 3 in 2020. Her essay for Radio 3 in 2020 for the Five Kinds of Beethoven series, was a critical success. It was accompanied by an animated transcript to increase accessibility. Writer and reader Sophie Stone Recording engineer Mat Clarke at Sonica Studios Sound designer Eloise Whitmore Producers Polly Thomas and Mina Anwar A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3 Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.
Unspoken Communication	20221202	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 5: Unspoken Communication Sophie eloquently speaks about being the child of addicts and finding a safe place to express emotions in the theatre. She talks about her relationship to her absent father and her unspoken grief held in silence after his death. Listen Harder broadcast on BBC Radio 3 will be accompanied by an animated transcript and BSL translation on BBC Sounds website, increasing accessibility. Sophie Stone is a leading actor who grew up in east London and has been Deaf since birth. She was the first deaf student at RADA. Since graduating, theatre includes: Othello (The Watermill Theatre); The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (NT/Frantic Assembly Tour); The Living Newspaper (The Royal Court); The New Tomorrow (The Young Vic); The Beauty Parade (Wales Millennium Centre); As You Like It (Shakespeare's Globe); Emilia (Shakespeare's Globe/ West End); Jubilee (Lyric, Hammersmith/ Manchester Royal Exchange); The Greatest Wealth (The Old Vic); Herons (Lyric, Hammersmith); Mother Courage and Her Children (National Theatre); and In Water I'm Weightless (National Theatre of Wales). Television includes: The Chelsea Detective (2), Moving On, Two Doors Down (2), Shakespeare & Hathaway, Shetland, The Crown, Doctor Who, Mapp and Lucia, Moonstone, Marchlands, Midsomer Murders (2), Small World, Holby City, Casualty (2) and FM. Film includes: Name Me Lawand, Retreat (Sophie was awarded Best Actress Award, Clin d'Oeil Festival), My Christmas Angel, Confessions and Coming Home. She is co-founder of the Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company, associate Artist for The Watermill Theatre, Pentabus Theatre and works as a consultant for several TV, Film and Theatre companies. Sophie had a lead role in Beethoven Can Hear You for BBC Radio 3 in 2020. Her essay for Radio 3 in 2020 for the Five Kinds of Beethoven series, was a critical success. It was accompanied by an animated transcript to increase accessibility. Writer and reader Sophie Stone Recording engineer Mat Clarke at Sonica Studios Sound designer Eloise Whitmore Producers Polly Thomas and Mina Anwar A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3 Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.
Visibility As Communication	20221130	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, Sophie describes finding the courage to carve out new pathways and opportunities in her life and career, creating opportunities for deaf voices to be integral to the creative process, and carving space for deafness to be made visible. Listen Harder broadcast on BBC Radio 3 will be accompanied by an animated transcript and BSL translation on BBC Sounds website, increasing accessibility. Sophie Stone is a leading actor who grew up in east London and has been Deaf since birth. She was the first deaf student at RADA. Since graduating, theatre includes: Othello (The Watermill Theatre); The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (NT/Frantic Assembly Tour); The Living Newspaper (The Royal Court); The New Tomorrow (The Young Vic); The Beauty Parade (Wales Millennium Centre); As You Like It (Shakespeare's Globe); Emilia (Shakespeare's Globe/ West End); Jubilee (Lyric, Hammersmith/ Manchester Royal Exchange); The Greatest Wealth (The Old Vic); Herons (Lyric, Hammersmith); Mother Courage and Her Children (National Theatre); and In Water I'm Weightless (National Theatre of Wales). Television includes: The Chelsea Detective (2), Moving On, Two Doors Down (2), Shakespeare & Hathaway, Shetland, The Crown, Doctor Who, Mapp and Lucia, Moonstone, Marchlands, Midsomer Murders (2), Small World, Holby City, Casualty (2) and FM. Film includes: Name Me Lawand, Retreat (Sophie was awarded Best Actress Award, Clin d'Oeil Festival), My Christmas Angel, Confessions and Coming Home. She is co-founder of the Deaf & Hearing Ensemble Theatre Company, associate Artist for The Watermill Theatre, Pentabus Theatre and works as a consultant for several TV, Film and Theatre companies. Sophie had a lead role in Beethoven Can Hear You for BBC Radio 3 in 2020. Her essay for Radio 3 in 2020 for the Five Kinds of Beethoven series, was a critical success. It was accompanied by an animated transcript to increase accessibility. Writer and reader Sophie Stone Recording engineer Mat Clarke at Sonica Studios Sound designer Eloise Whitmore Producers Polly Thomas and Mina Anwar A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3 Actor Sophie Stone explores communication, performance and deaf identity.