The Power of Protest

Well done Act Up!

After they protested outside the Newham Council event this afternoon it seems as if the Council had a change of heart...  

In Act Up's words this is what happened:

"Act Up had a very successful campaign outside the Old Town Hall in Stratford this afternoon.  We held placards and handed out the leaflets to the people attending the event.

After one of the ticket holders to the event went and spoke on our behalf to the organisers two of us were invited in to hear an 'explanation' of what had happened.

We met with the manager of the Old Town Hall and the person that organised the community centres and who had emailed us on Monday to tell that our performance was cancelled. They apologised for what they called a 'fatal error' in the way they had dealt with the situation. They said that the play was not festive enough for a Christmas party and that, as it was a ticketed event, the visitors wouldn't have had a choice of whether they wanted to watch our play or not. We explained how hurt the members of Act Up were and how we all saw it as censorship of disabled people's stories, as that was what the play had been about. They said that it was not censorship, that they truly believed in free speech and that the only reason they had cancelled it was because it was not a Christmas play! We said, the way to prove to our members that they were not trying to censor our play was to provide us another opportunity to perform it in the New Year. They promised that they would do so and would get back to us with dates of upcoming council events that we could perform at in January. They also sought to reassure us that we could continue to rehearse in the community centre.

We are happy that we organised the protest, as if we hadn't, the council would have just thought they could get away with treating us so appallingly. We very much hope that the council will provide us with opportunity to perform Atos stories in the new year, but will only be reassured when they actually give us a date of an event at which we can perform."

So well done Act Up &well done Newham for doing the decent thing. We WILL be watching to make sure you live up to your promise!

Newham Comment on stopping Act Up performance

Newham Council have published the following on their website:

http://www.newham.gov.uk/News/2012/December/NewhamOver50sChristmasCelebrationandActUpTheatre.htm


"The event on Wednesday is an annual Christmas celebration for older residents in Newham. Act Up Theatre were asked to provide details of their proposed performance but this was not forthcoming. We do not consider political satire or potentially distressing material to be in keeping with the theme or tone of this event. Officers have therefore decided to cancel this element of what will be a festive and light hearted event. We have worked well in the past with Act Up Theatre and would hope to do so again."

We can understand that if this event is a jolly Christmas sing-song, Atos Stories might not have been quite right for it. However, it was Newham who invited Act Up, Newham who knew a month ago the play was about the difficulties disabled people face. Why then, did they decide at the last minute to cancel the performance? And isn't it just a tad patronising to think that a group of over 50's, many of whom may have have experience of Atos, wouldn't want to watch a political satire on the subject? Have Newham Council not noticed the satire in that most loved Christmas story - A Christmas Carol?

Newham Council conclude that they are willing to work with Act Up in future. If this is all a misunderstanding, as they seem to be implying, they can resolve the matter simply. All they need to do to show their support to Act Up, and the disabled people of Newham, is to invite the group to perform the play in the New Year. 

It would make their Christmas.

Atos Stories Cancelled!

The Atos Stories Collective is shocked to hear that Newham Council has this week cancelled the Act Up performance of Atos Stories which was due to take place on Wednesday

Act Up -  a small community theatre group, many of whom have disabilities - were invited by the Council to perform at the event. A month ago, the group provided background and logistical information about the play, and were advised the Council were happy for them to perform. They are devastated that the Council  has decided this week that  the play is not "suitable" for the target audience of the over 50's.

As Act Up have pointed out - many people over 50 have disabilities and have been subject to Atos assessments. Why would they be offended by a play that would give them an opportunity to both laugh at Atos and inspire them to work together to challenge the Work Capability Assessment?

We are deeply disappointed that despite having information about the play for over a month, Newham Council have not chosen to discuss this with Act Up until the 14th December. We are also disappointed that the Council hasn't stopped to consider the enormous barriers  Act Up have overcome to even perform the play. The group have been working hard for the last three months, they deserve to be treated with far more respect than this.

We wrote Atos Stories because we were mad at Atos. We wanted people with disabilities and without  to have vehicle to challenge the Work Capability Assessment in a creative and dramatic way. We thought Atos might stop that from happening. We never thought a local council would.

We understand Act Up will be lodging a complaint with Newham Council. We intend to do the same.

PS A clarification. It appears that one of the concerns is that the play isn't suitable for a festive occasion. If this is the case, why did Newham wait till a few days before to discuss this? And if the cancellation is solely on the grounds of the play not being Christmassy enough, perhaps they can offer Act Up a chance to perform on another occasion instead?

The Atos Christmas Carol Song Sheet

Tomorrow is International Day of the Disabled. Coincidentally the day that the government has chosen to make workfare mandatory for  people in the Work Related Activity Group. We imagine a few people will be wanting to protest about that. And we thought some Atos Christmas Carols might help keep everyone warm...

1. The first day of Christmas

The first day of Christmas,

Atos Healthcare stripped from me…

My sense of pride and my dignity

On the second day of Christmas,

Atos Healthcare stripped from me…

Two toilet rolls

My sense of pride and my dignity

On the third day of Christmas

Atos Healthcare stripped from me…

Three taxi fares

Two toilet rolls

My sense of pride and my dignity

On the fourth day of Christmas

Atos Healthcare stripped from me…

Four shopping trips

Three taxi fares

Two toilet rolls

My sense of pride and my dignity

On the fifth day of Christmas

Atos Healthcare stripped from me…

Five heating bills

Four shopping trips

Three taxi fares

Two toilet rolls

My sense of pride and my dignity

On the sixth day of Christmas,
Atos Healthcare stripped from me…
Six steaming showers
Five heating bills

Four shopping trips

Three taxi fares

Two toilet rolls

My sense of pride and my dignity

On the seventh day of Christmas,
Atos Healthcare stripped from me… 

Eight

Seven Christmas pressies
Six steaming showers
Five heating bills

Four shopping trips

Three taxi fares

Two toilet rolls

My sense of pride and my dignity

On the eighth day of Christmas,
Atos Healthcare stripped from me…
Eight cups of coffee

Seven Christmas pressies
Six steaming showers
Five heating bills

Four shopping trips

Three taxi fares

Two toilet rolls

My sense of pride and my dignity

On the ninth day of Christmas,
Atos Healthcare stripped from me… 

Nine nights of Strictly
Eight cups of coffee

Seven Christmas pressies
Six steaming showers
Five heating bills

Four shopping trips

Three taxi fares

Two toilet rolls

My sense of pride and my dignity

. 

On the tenth day of Christmas,
Atos Healthcare stripped from me… 

Ten lights alighting

Nine nights of Strictly
Eight cups of coffee

Seven Christmas pressies
Six steaming showers
Five heating bills

Four shopping trips

Three taxi fares

Two toilet rolls

My sense of pride and my dignity

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
Atos Healthcare stripped from me… 

Eleven pints of milk

Ten lights alighting

Nine nights of Strictly
Eight cups of coffee

Seven Christmas pressies
Six steaming showers
Five heating bills

Four shopping trips

Three taxi fares

Two toilet rolls

My sense of pride and my dignity

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
Atos Healthcare stripped from me… 

Twelve decent meals

Eleven pints of milk

Ten lights alighting

Nine nights of Strictly
Eight cups of coffee

Seven Christmas pressies
Six steaming showers
Five heating bills

Four shopping trips

Three taxi fares

Two toilet rolls

My sense of pride and my dignity

2. Good King Atos

Good King Atos he looked out

On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
struggling with his fuel

"Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know'st it, telling
Yonder claimant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes' fountain."

"Bring my laptop, bring my pens
Tell him to come hither
Thou and I will question him
When we bear him thither."

Page and monarch went upstairs
Up they went together
Ignoring  claimant’s wild lament
And the bitter weather

"Sire, the stairs are too steep now
I can go no longer

Fails my heart, I know not how,
I wish that I was  stronger."
"My laptop tells me different son.

No points means you are fit now

So go and get yourself a job

Quick get on with it now”

So the claimant left the house
Too tired to make a protest
Weak and ill and failing fast
he lay in the snow to rest
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who do not bless the poor
Won’t yourselves find blessing 

3. The First Nowell

The First Nowell

The First Nowell, Atos Healthcare did say

To certain poor claimants in beds where they lay

Their legs where they lay, too painful  to sleep

On a cold winter’s night that was so deep 

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’ve done our assessment & now you are well

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’re fit for work now so go out and sell

They looked up and saw a star

Shining in the East beyond them far

And to the earth  it shone a great light 

On so many jobs it was quite a sight

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’ve done our assessment & now you are well

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’re fit for work now so go out and sell

And by the light of that same star

Three Wise men came from workplaces far

To get work fare slaves was their intent

So they followed that star whereever it went

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’ve done our assessment & now you are well

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’re fit for work now so go out and sell

The star drew nigh to the northwest
O'er the DWP it took its rest

And there it did both pause and stay

Right o'er the place where IDS lay

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’ve done our assessment & now you are well

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’re fit for work now so go out and sell

Then entered in those Wise men three

Full reverently upon their knee

And offered to his gov-ern-ment

Places to work without payment

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’ve done our assessment & now you are well

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’re fit for work now so go out and sell

Then let us all with one accord

Sing praises to our Heavenly Lord

That hath made health and wealth of nought

And with their blood, disabled people has bought

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’ve done our assessment & now you are well

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

You’re fit for work now so go out and sell

4. God Rest ye Merry Gentleman

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,
let nothing ye dismay,
For Atos your good saviour
will take your pains away,
And force you down to Tesco
To work till Christmas Day

Oh Tidings of Comfort and Joy, Comfort and Joy

Oh Tidings of Comfort and Joy.

"Fear not then" said his Angel

"Let nothing you affright.

This day is born a Saviour

Who'll make your life all right

To free all those who trust in Him

From Welfare's power and might

Oh Tidings of Comfort and Joy, Comfort and Joy

Oh Tidings of Comfort and Joy.

Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace
This holy tide of welfare free;
All other does embrace

Oh Tidings of Comfort and Joy, Comfort and Joy

Oh Tidings of Comfort and Joy.

(with thanks to the Atos Miracles FB guys)

Atos Stories Premiere!!!

We are delighted  to announce two exciting developments for Atos Stories.

Act Up! Newham Community Performance Group - a theatre company of disabled and non disabled performers will be putting on the first ever performance of Atos Stories. The company have taken the original text and created an accessible version so all members of the group can participate. We are VERY excited to see the results.

You can see Atos Stories on 19th December from 2-4pm at Old Town Hall, 29 Broadway, Stratford, London E15 4BQ. Please spread the word!!

My Life My Choice, a self advocacy group based in Oxford have begun to record some of The Atos Monologues as podcasts on their Champions Blog  You can listen here - more coing soon http://mylifemychoice.org.uk/champions/champions-blogs/

This is what Atos Stories is all about. Local people putting out this message within their communities. Hope it inspires you to do the same!!!

Atos Stories Round Up

It's just over a year since Atos Stories began, and 6 months since we produced our scripts. We thought it would be timely to give you an update of what's been happening...

In July Occupy Olympics and DPAC  were all set to perform some of the Monologues here but unfortunately the police cut short the rally. Still we managed an impromptu reading on a train in Stratford so it didn't go unmarked.

In August daughter and I read the Atos Monologues at Greenbelt as a prelude to the DPAC organised Atos Games.  Thanks to support from DPAC, DPAC Cardiff contacted us for use of materials in their leaflets, and Leeds Uncut performed some Monologues in the City Centre. You can see footage here and here.

We're still in conversation with Act Up in Newham, who are hoping to put on Atos Stories. In Oxford we now have a nucleus of people who are considering using the material for plays on local radio, and podcasts. And we're still  hoping we might be able to put on a stage play. We're also encouraging people who want to support Adam Lotun's bid for MP in Corby to put on the Monologues as he's out campaigning and/or on 14th November (the night before the election). Finally, we've been in conversation with a couple of film makers, who may be up for a spot of collaboration.

Looking at our statistics on Scribd,  1,800 have read the Monologues (version 1 and 2 - if you haven't read yet, please use the second  updated version!), 640 Atos Stories, and 350 Atos Street Theatre. That's over 2000 reads!

This is what we were set up for. To pull stories together and spread them to the world. Please join us by looking at our materials, and seeing how you can use them in your protests, or at a theatre, podcast or video link. These are the Atos Stories. They are there for everyone. So help us spread the word!

Standing for Disability Rights

We were watching video footage of the DPAC blockade at the DWP and caught this: our good friend Adam Lotun, one of the earliest contributors to Atos Stories, announcing his candidacy for MP for Corby. In fact we were so excited we tweeted without watching the rest of the video, and only later realised the police brutally broke up the party injuring wheelchair user Patrick Lynch in the process. Luckily Adam was OK, though his wheelchair is not. (Check out Adam's blog for a horrific account of the police's behaviour).We're delighted to hear that he is going to be campaigning in Corby which we think is a brilliant way to build on the recent successful Atos/DWP protests. We've been wondering about organising a mass reading of the Atos Monologues recently, and this seems as good an opportunity as any.

So here's the deal . You can download the Monologues  which we  have just updated and get as many people as you want to put it on wherever. It can be a pub, a cafe, a theatre, a place of worship, a market place, a shopping mall. Anywhere where people can be. The only thing you ask is you link to Adam's campaign, and that you organise it for the night before the election (14th November). And if you are in Northamptonshire, it would be great if you could also read them while he is campaigning. Or if you were feeling more theatrical you can download our  Street Theatre. and give the crowds some entertainment.

There's two months to prepare for this. So plenty of time to get organising and acting!

It's our party, we'll protest if we want to.

So the government thinks last week's protests were spoiling the Paralympics party, does it? 

How mean spirited of us. To put the glare of publicity on Atos, the wonderful sponsor of the Paralympics at a time when we should be focussing on the triumph of disabled people against adversity, against the odds, against their disabilities... Of course we have the right to protest, but by choosing to do it at the Games, we're spoiling the narrative aren't we?

It's actually quite simple to those of us who believe in a just and fair society. Atos, the DWP and the government are causing endless harm and suffering to disabled and sick people and their families every day. It is an absolute offence that Atos is the Paralympics sponsor, as we and many others told Lord Coe repeatedly last year. So what on earth did they expect when the Paralympics started? And protest continues to be necessary, when we see that the DWP is plotting to fine people in the WRAG £71/week if they don't take part in work activities. When we see Cecilia Burns dying of cancer last week, after being placed in the WRAG, yet another Atos Victim. And when we hear that the DWP is secretly working with Tribunals to raise it's success rate on appeals (which the new Justice Secretary will knock on the head anyway when he approves the abolition of legal aid)

But it is also quite simple to see that Paralympians train hard, often using DLA and ESA in order to compete on a level playing field. It is simple to see that Paralympic sport is exciting, inspiring, and fills us with as much pleasure as Olympic sport. The races of Simmons, Weir, Pistorius this Paralympics have been as thrilling (& controversial) as any we saw in the Olympics earlier in the summer. We are absolutely loving it, and the fact that the whole country is seeing the sport not the disability should be a source of national pride.

It is possible, you see, to both celebrate the sport, and decry the disgraceful welfare system the government is creating. After all, the Paralympics is OUR party, we paid for it. We'll protest if we want to.

That the government don't get this, is just a sign of how out of touch they are.No wonder they're getting booed.

Spasticus Autisticus

It was this story by Nick Sommerlad in the Mirror that really got us going. Back in February 2011 we'd vaguely heard about Atos, but reading about George's untimely death from a heart attack got us wondering. Amelia Gentleman's fine articles in the Guardian fuelled the fire, which was further fanned by the discovery that Atos was sponsoring the Paralympics. What finally set us ablaze was the discovery that Atos had threatened law suits against carers and disabled people who dared to complain about their inhumane treatment. So we decided to write a play. One that would be drawn from real life stories, that could be used by ordinary people where they are to raise awareness about the work Atos does. We decided to aim for a Spring launch with the hope it could be used in time for the beginning of the Paralympics.

Back then, not many people were talking about Atos. Except for the journalists noted above (who deserve great credit for spreading the word so widely and continuing to do so), the main voices were from campaign groups like Black Triangle and DPAC and bloggers like Sue Marsh, Kaliya Franklin, David Gillon. But when we put our messages out on twitter and Facebook, slowly but surely, the stories came in. Stories that enraged us, infuriated us and made us want to create a piece of drama that would truly reflect the experience and get the world angry too. We decided to set our play against the backdrop of the history of welfare, from the post war consensus, through Thatcherism and to the modern day. With Ian Dury as our guide, Jo/e Bloggs has his/her eyes opened to the Atos experience. Assessors hide behind computers, claimants are forced to run a Paralympics fit to work race, appeals are on a conveyorbelt. The play ends with claimants turning the tables on Atos, The DWP and Ministers by calling them to account. We've used familiar tunes with new words to enliven the action, with Spasticus Autisticus naturally taking centre stage.

As we wrote, we realised some of the stories needed more time than this drama could provide. We also thought it might be ambitious for many to do a visual and physical play. So we created the Atos Monologues, which can be read by anyone anywhere, in a theatre, on the streets, at a festival. And for good measure we realised that some of the key scenes in Atos Stories would work as Street Theatre.  By May we were ready to launch to the world. We're pleased to say with very positive results. As we write, Act Up in Newham are working on the play, and we hope a group is forming in Oxford. DPAC and Our Olympics hoped to use the Monologues for their Counter Olympics protest on the 28th July but police cut the demo short. We did perform the Monologues at Greenbelt last week, and we understand Leeds DPAC used some at their demo on Tuesday, and Cardiff DPAC used some in their literature.

In the meantime, the tiny group of voices that started with a whisper has been joined by more and more people. As the year has gone on, we have seen a babble become a shout, with the launch of the Spartacus Report waking the media up to the dangers of welfare reform. The focus on dodgy sponsors during the Olympics put Atos in the spotlight, further enhanced by the Dispatches and Panorama double whammy on the 31st July. Suddenly everyone was talking about Atos, just in time for DPAC's Atos Games which launched on Monday. Yesterday that shout became a huge roar, as the story of the Opening Ceremony was Atos sponsoring the games at a time when it is stripping disabled people of benefits. It was front page  news on the Independent. All day long twitter and Facebook were full of it. And then came the ceremony itself. A beautiful collision of art and science, where disability was peripheral, disability rights, central. As many of us fumed at the Atos lanyards athletes were wearing, the GB team entered with tracksuits zipped up. Not a lanyard in sight. Deliberate? It has to be doesn't it?

As for the rest of the ceremony, Jenny Sealey and David Hemmings deserve gold for cutting through the bullshit (disabled people are heroes, scroungers or to be pitied) with a dazzling display of excellence. The culmination being a fabulous rendition of Spasticus Autisticus whilst performers waved rights banners in the background a message to "normal land" that disabled people just ain't going to take it lying down. With the glass ceiling being broken, under a replica of the beautiful Alison Lappa statue, and the whole stadium roaring "I am what I am", the message was loud and clear. Let disabled people BE.

In all the enthusiasm, we wondered last night whether Atos Stories is still necessary. After all Sealey and Hemmings have given the world the message we want it to hear. But sadly, we know there is more work to be done. On Newsnight last night, we gather Maria Miller resisted all evidence about Atos to suggest that WCA assessments liberate disabled people. Atos have been awarded 3/4 of the contracts to undertake DLA to PIP assessments. 500,000 people will face losing their DLA from 2013. Many of them were performing last night, or will be taking part in the games, able to do so because DLA helps them maintain their independence. And even if Atos were to lose their contract tomorrow, we are facing the most disablist government ever. We need to stop them in their tracks now.

If you care about this, if you want to get involved, there's plenty to do. The Atos Games continue today with armchair activism and tomorrow with a closing ceremony at Atos. Next Tuesday, Tom Greatrex MP is leading a debate on Atos in Parliament, which we sincerely hope is the start of Labour's path to rehabilitation, having committed the grievous offence of starting Atos assessments in the first place. And of course, you can put on our plays Atos Stories, The Atos Monologues or Street Theatre any time, any where.

Finally, please do celebrate the Paralympians, they've worked hard, they deserve our support.  But every time they succeed, do use this hashtag #DidDLAhelp. Cos you know what? We bet it probably did.

As Kaliya Franklin says (and has kindly let us use for our play) - "Alone we whisper, together we shout". Let's shout the house down.

Atos Stories at Greenbelt

Way back in March, when Atos Stories was still in production, I knew I'd be at the Greenbelt festival later in the year. So we sent in an application to put on Atos Stories from scratch, the idea being to invite disabled and nondisabled people to get involved. This was rather an ambitious idea, and I have to say I was a bit relieved we were turned down. But, I still wanted Atos Stories to be there in some way.  As the year rolled on, we developed the Atos Monologues which is shorter and simpler to stage. When I discovered recently Greenbelt was having an open mic session, I jumped at the chance. And I was delighted that my thirteen year old daughter decided to join me after she watched the Dispatches/Panorama programme.

We were both a tad nervous beforehand. As I mentioned before I'm not an actor, and this was her first time speaking in public outside of school. But we needn't have worried. The lovely volunteers at the Roots Stage were warm and encouraging, we drummed up a large enough audience from twitter and posters round the site, and once we were up, we soon got in the flow. And it was a really useful exercise to see which bits worked well, and which need further editing.

We used 11 of the monologues, which intersperse the rhetoric of ministers, DWP, and Atos with the real accounts of people's experience of Atos. They build up story by story to culminate with the fact that 1,100 people died between January and August last year, after being placed in the WRAG. We ended with one story, well known to disabled campaigners. Karen Sherlock, who wrote to  us as Pusscat01, died in June 2012, two weeks after she finally won her fight to be placed in the support group. We are extremely grateful to Nigel, Karen's husband, for giving us permission to do this, and to Kaliya Franklin for allowing us to quote from emails Karen sent. It made for a powerful ending, which didn't just reduce some of the audience to tears, but me as well. Which is as it should be. If these stories don't make us weep - we're lost.

Greenbelt was a great platform to talk about Atos and to advertise the DPAC Atos Games (which also got a plug at the panel on welfare, where Sue Marsh spoke). And I was pleased to see there is growing awareness of what is happening with welfare, which means the campaign is building. It was also marvellous to hook up with Sue and Steve Sumpter on Saturday after a years worth of discussions by twitter. Thanks also to Steve for taking pictures of our first ever performance. A special thanks to my wonderful husband and children for their support, and particularly, my lovely thirteen year old who was amazing.

So there you go. It's as easy as that to put on the Atos Monologues. Anyone can do it anywhere. We are working on a revised version but please do feel free to download the current one here. We also have street theatre for use at protests, and for the more ambitious, a full length play, Atos Stories.

I opened yesterday by saying this week sees the launch of the Paralympics, sponsored by our friends at Atos. In response, Disabled People Against Cuts are coordinating the Atos Games up and down the country, with a Closing Ceremony at Atos on Friday. There's more information here

Also coming up soon,  Tom Greatrex, MP, has tabled a debate on Atos at the House of Commons for the 4th September. So why not write to your MP and ask them to support the motion?

A personal post from one of the collective

It's not over yet...

The Olympics may have finished, but the Paralympics are coming...

If like us, you are furious that Atos is a sponsor and organises logistics, there is plenty you can do.

From 27th-31st August DPAC have organised a week of action against Atos to coincide with the start of the Games. You can find more details here.

Atos Stories will be at Greenbelt Festival that weekend and hope to get a slot at the Open Mic to read from the Atos Monologues.

And ANYONE of you can download our plays for free. You can read from the Monologues, do a bit of Street Theatre (including a Paralympics Fit to Work Race) or get in touch about putting on Atos Stories. Let us know if you do it and send us photos we'll put them up...

It's time we all acted against Atos.

Please join us!

Jump up!

So, today, I was in London for my uncle's funeral. Up until the last minute, I wasn't sure if I was going, or how I'd get there, but looking at the hotspots expected on the roads, last night I decided to take public transport. It was one of those last minute choices that sometimes create unexpected opportunities. Naturally enough, signs of the Olympics were everywhere, bringing with them the pleasure/pain that I've been experiencing for the last six months.  I'm passionate about athletics and I love the sport, but I've been increasingly downhearted by all the rubbish accompanying the games, too much security, too many awful sponsors, suppression of free speech. On the up side in London, it was good to see cheery volunteer Olympics ambassadors, pointing tourists in the right direction, making me feel glad to be a Londoner by birth. On the downside, a woman wearing an Atos badge, presumably on her way to Olympics HQ. "Bloody Atos,"I growled inwardly, as I headed to the tube, where I made another last minute decision which would change my day

Alerted by my sister that a train to Romford would be quicker than going to Hornchurch by tube, I decided to head to Liverpool Street. I had my laptop with me, and as I got on the train, I found myself opening up the Atos Monologues instead of the piece I was working on. Next time I looked up, we were at Stratford, and blow me, there was the Olympic Stadium to my left. Perhaps I was being sent a message. I looked down at my laptop, I looked up at the train. Perhaps I should do an impromptu reading? Trouble is, I'm a writer, not an actor, I wasn't  sure I could do justice to Karen and Kate, and all the other fabulous people who wrote to us. The train moved off, the moment passed, and I headed to the funeral.

But the thought stayed with me throughout the service. I should go back that way and be my very own flash mob. As I sat in Church listening to first my brother, and then my cousin talk about Uncle Andrew: a little bit bohemian, a little bit of a wordsmith, a little bit of an actor, a little bit of a communist, I thought my action could also be a little bit of a tribute to him. On my return journey, I pulled out my laptop, opened up the Monologues and chose two short passages by Kate, and the sadly recently deceased  Karen Sherlock. The train came closer and closer to Stratford, and I began to sweat. I don't mind public speaking but addressing a carriage of strangers was something else. The train pulled into Stratford. Lots of people exited, but I still had an audience of 15 or so. The doors closed. It was now or never. I jumped up, said I hoped people wouldn't mind, talked a bit about Atos, and read the stories to the somewhat bemused carriage. I finished by telling them about Karen's untimely death and by urging them to watch Dispatches on Tuesday (8pm Channel 4) and sat down, legs shaking. Much to my relief, nothing happened, nobody objected, nobody called the police and I left the train at Liverpool Street, heading for home.

I was considering whether to repeat the experience on the Hammersmith and City Line, but I didn't need to. Shamefully on the first day of the Olympics that have cost this country £10 BILLION, a young man with disabilities was so broke, he was forced to board a train and politely beg from us. For the second time in an hour, I jumped up from my seat to applaud him, and followed up by telling the carriage that this is a disgrace. He told us that up until a tumour appeared on his leg he'd worked and paid taxes. The doctors had hoped to fix it so he'd turned down the opportunity to apply for benefits two years ago. And now he is too sick to work, he cannot get support from the State. IN London. IN 2012. ON the first day of the greatest show on earth.

I've no idea what people made of my speechifying, or of my companion on the Tube. But one thing I am clear about. Unless we all start jumping up and saying our bit, nothing will change, nothing.

Now my protest is done, I do feel able to sit back and enjoy the only bit of the games that is worthwhile...the best sports people in the world striving for excellence. I'm off on holidays tomorrow but I'm glad to say, DPAC will be doing a proper reading of The Atos Monologues at the Counter Olympics Network protest in East London. We writers of the Monologues won't be there to see it, but it's great to know the words will be getting out there. As my Uncle Andrew knew, there's nothing so powerful.

(A Personal Post from one of the Collective)

First Acts

The most exciting thing about writing a play is when people start preparing to put it on.


We are delighted to announce the premiere of The Atos Monologues will take on the 28th July. Our friends in Disabled People Against Cuts and Our Olympics have organised a reading to take place as part of the Counter Olympic Network demonstrations in East London. We hope that lots of you will be able to get along. If you can't  we hope to have a link on this blog to livestream on the day.


We can also announce that Act Up, a small theatre company in Newham are well into rehearsals of Atos Stories. We'll keep you posted on progress


We're in conversation with people in Oxford and hope to have some news soon.


This is just the beginning, we'd love to hear from more of you...So any thespians please do get in touch atosstories@gmail.com


We are dedicating both plays to the memory of Karen Sherlock, disability campaigner and victim of the inhumanity of the work capability assessment system.

Beyond Angry

We started this project in response to the stories we heard about people dying after being found fit to work. Today we've heard that @pusscat01, one of the contributors to our Monologues has just died of cardiac arrest. She was awaiting dialysis, yet Atos found her fit enough to be placed in the work related activity group. She lost her ESA several weeks ago, and sent us and others on twitter anguished tweets about the impact this had on her life and finances. We couldn't help her, but we could listen to her story and use it in the play, and hopefully make something happen with that. She was terrified of her real name being revealed, so we promised to use the pseudonym "Pussycat". Although her real name is out on twitter, we're respecting that by reproducing her story below:

"At my medical the nurse made several statements with
regard to my health and capability regarding which group I should be placed in, these are as follows:-

·        “The people who check the forms, I believe are quite understanding and will have your best interests at heart
and be sympathetic to your needs and place you in the right (support) group.  If they do not place you in this group appeal it and you will win.”

·        “You are a genuinely ill person and are unemployable due to your multiple medical conditions.”

·         “You have been working for 22 years and have done your bit.  You are not the sort of person they are trying to single out.”

·        “When filling in the form do it more thoroughly.  I understand you find it vague but you can always fill in the white boxes and explain why you think this applies. This
will increase your chances of being placed in the correct group.”

                                                                                               

She also chose not to perform a physical examination or do a blood pressure test due to the pain and distress they may cause me.

I have greater than 50% visual loss and severe continence problems. I also suffer from chronic tiredness among many other problems, which is caused by a combination of Vitamin B12 deficiency, anaemia, kidney disease and long-term diabetes.

The report said I did not look tired. But the medical was
carried out late in the afternoon and I had spent the morning
in bed before I got up to be sure I could attend the medical!

With all that I thought I’d have enough points for the support group. I cannot believe I got placed in the Work Related
Activity Group.  My 1st tier appeal was lost and my rep let me down on the 2nd tier so it never got that far.

My experience is that depending on what doctor you see
every outcome seems to be different.  The fact that the
person I saw at the assessment actually said I should be
in the support group and then it changed when I got the final decision is amazing to me.  It would seem as though what
they say to you in the room does not transfer when it leaves that place."

Last we heard from Pussycat, she'd not had her benefits restored and was becoming increasingly worried and anxious. We're glad to hear from Sue Marsh at Diary of a Benefits Scrounger  that she was put back on ESA two weeks ago.
But the stress and anguish she was under for the past few months cannot have helped her deal with the physical problems she faced every day. We're beyond angry  to know that yet again someone so ill, so vulnerable has been treated so shamefully by the State. 

RIP Pussycat. We won't forget you.

The Play's The Thing...

We can't quite believe it but we actually have three plays to distribute to the world. And thanks to the magic of Scribd you should be able to download them for yourself. We doubt whether we'll be catching the conscience of any of the current kings and queens of welfare, but we do hope you will be able to use one or more versions of the play in your local communities to raise awareness.

Atos Stories - A Drama With Music 
http://www.scribd.com/doc/93380043/ATOS-STORIESVersion5May   (This version references a couple of cartoons from the 1940's. The Beveridge one is here & the Zec one here)
The Atos Monologues  http://www.scribd.com/doc/93379959/The-Atos-Monologues
Atos Street Theatre  http://www.scribd.com/doc/93380024/Atos-Stories-Street-Theatre

We want to try and log people's interest so PLEASE get in touch with us at atosstories@gmail.com, if you are up for this. At the moment we have no money but we are looking at ways we can get some to share around. We'll keep you posted.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who contributed their often painful stories which have helped create these plays. We are sorry you have had to go through it, but grateful that you have enabled us to use the stories to help change the future:

David, Aletheia, Mary, Tim, Kate, Yvonne, Adam, Nelson, Elizabeth, Sam,Vincent, Pussycat, John, Adrian, Martin & all the fabulous people who took part in our Facebook and Twitter games.

We would also like to thank the following for their help:

Amelia Gentleman - The Guardian
Patrick Collins
James Ivens, Flood Theatre
John McArdle Black Triangle
Jon Peace News
Kaliya Franklin  Benefit Scrounging Scum
Sue Marsh Diary of a Benefit Scrounger
Nelson  DWP Examinations

And a huge thanks to Eve Ensler for The Vagina Monologues and Margaret Atwood for dramatising The Flood which inspired this work.

Dear Minister...

The results of another Facebook/Twitter game

We asked : Dear Minister the impact of YOUR welfare reforms on MY life...

And you said...

Will be 20% cut in DLA. Barstewards

Will not affect you in your ivory tower. Lidl beans for me on out of date bread

Is crushing me under fear, stress and hopelessness.

Is making life unpredictable, fearful with a dread of brown envelopes through the door. Humiliated and scared for the future

Has made being disabled a crime. 

Is making my daily struggle even harder, leading to me becoming even more ill than when I fell onto benefits with the thought of being up and running again a distant dream. 
Is bollox
Is causing me pain and misery                             

Is making me want to take stemetil just to get through the day with out throwing up when I see how seriously ill people are being maltreated in this society purely for profit, otherwise I consider myself to be in good health.

I’m really not keen on using dear for that nasty Tory bastard

Thanks again to all who took part (and sorry). Do feel free to add more below, they'll go in the monologues