Barbara and Alan fight for all disability rights

The screenwriter Jack Thorne has won a wealth of Baftas, RTS and other awards besides, and has been responsible for ratings-winners such as National Treasure, His Dark Materials and the This Is England serials.

A safe pair of hands, then, along with those of actor-turned-writer Genevieve Barr, for this new one-off drama penned by them both.

But more than that, Thorne and Barr are particularly qualified to tackle its subjects, the entertainers and disability rights campaigners Barbara Lisicki and Alan Holdsworth. Lisicki and Holdsworth were a couple who met at a cabaret gig they were both performing at, fell in love, and ultimately became the driving force behind an unprecedented campaign of direct action that ultimately led to the passing of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act.

Both co-writers are disabled – Barr is deaf and Thorne has a severe skin sensitivity – and, together with production manager Katie Player, founded their own campaign group called Underlying Health Condition last year. They know all about discrimination, both conscious and unconscious, inside and out of the entertainment industry. Both have experienced it, but recognise how much worse it could have been were it not for the pioneering work of those who came before them.

Far from a worthy, joyless telling of the pair’s tale, however, this is an immensely enjoyable and celebratory love story, charting Lisicki and Holdsworth’s lives outside of activism and their considerable talents as entertainers.

Bafta-nominated Ruth Madeley (Years and Years) and Arthur Hughes (Help) head a superb ensemble cast of emerging and established disabled talent, including Phillipa Cole, Reece Pantry, Fergus Rattigan, Nadeem Islam and Shreya M Patel.

The story begins in the early 1990s – an era when many deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people in Britain faced huge barriers in the workplace. They often lived in poor-quality housing, and transport wasn’t accessible. The notion that the disabled community should be the grateful beneficiaries of charity handouts was pervasive at the time – and far from being equal, independent citizens, disabled people had no rights in law.

But then Barbara met Alan, and everything began to change…

Readers of a certain age might recall Telethon, the 28-hour TV charity event that raised funds by generating pity for disabled people. When Telethon ceased, the conversation around disability was able to change, and disabled people found voices as individuals rather than charity cases to feel sorry for. Its end was brought about by Lisicki and Holdsworth, the pair galvanising support throughout the disabled community under the provocative slogan “P*** on Pity”.

The nation was shocked but also saw the passion, humour and sheer capability of disabled individuals. Having proved what they were capable of, the duo formed the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network (DAN). Together – and with a new baby in tow – they shut down inaccessible bus routes, picketed cinemas and restaurants with no disabled access, and generally took on the establishment armed only with pink handcuffs and an indomitable spirit.

Midway through the decade the government took notice and enshrined disabled rights in law. Neither saw their work as being done, and indeed there are still battles to be won today – which is why Thorne and Barr’s marvellous drama is so pertinent and timely.

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