John Bishop and his son Joe embark on their BSL journey with Remark! in a new TV documentary: Life After Deaf with South Shore and Lola TV.
Remark! has gone from its humble roots back in 1999, in West Ham with founders Mark Nelson and Ramon Woolfe, steadily growing with a strong focus on the Deaf Community. The Remark! Brand quickly became a national Deaf treasure. There was always a demand from the Deaf community, mainly from the public and private sector and from hearing people who wanted to learn BSL.
We were humbled when South Shore approached us to be part of their documentary with John and Joe Bishop. We connected them with Bob Rose, one of our many highly experienced BSL tutors, and he took them through the British Sign Language (BSL) Level 1 certificate course via private tuition at our Training Centre in Central London. Bob has been teaching them since March with the support of his colleague, Deborah Van Halle, covering some classes online as our courses are available both face to face and remotely via ZOOM.
Bob Rose: "With belief and commitment, John and Joe proved you can achieve your goal. At the beginning, they both struggled, but by the end, they were signing smoothly. It was fantastic to watch and work with them both."
Robert Morgan, BSL Services Manager at Remark, said, "It has been a great experience working with South Shore and Lisa Thomas Management to ensure John and Joe receive the best experience that Remark! has to offer within a tight filming schedule as well the opportunity to showcase how fun it is to learn BSL. It has been a pleasure to see John and Joe evolve over time."
John Bishop, a beloved Liverpudlian comedian, has recently finished his eighth sell-out tour, "Right Here, Right Now". He is known across the world for his comedy and charity work and is never one to shy away from a challenge! His son Joe, who has an auto-immune condition which is causing hearing loss, is at the heart of this documentary as they both delve into the world of BSL and the Deaf Community.
“You certainly made an impact on us, and John and Joe were visibly changed after just one visit to Remark and seeing Deafness celebrated rather than something to fear. Remark’s influence definitely went beyond teaching the language. ”
About our BSL courses and private tuition
All of our BSL teachers and assessors are Deaf, native BSL users. This means our students benefit from a real and native insight into the Deaf community and its language.
We’ve been doing what we do for nearly 20 years, which has allowed us to design and deliver courses that integrate both practical and theoretical elements of learning.
The Level 1 Award in British Sign Language can be taken without any previous BSL experience. This qualification allows learners to gain basic skills and confidence in the two areas of BSL production (signing yourself) and reception (understanding others signing).
Inspired by our course shown on John & Joe Bishop: Life After Deaf? We pride on being the leading Deaf led Training Centre that offers a face-to-face private class.
We are introducing our new Remark! BSL Foundation, starting in November, is suited for those who want to learn BSL as a hobby and to be able to interact with the Deaf community without any exams or long course commitments. Remark! Certificate will be issued at the end of the short course.
£359 for 15 weeks course over school term times with Level 1 Signature exams as an optional extra at the end of the Foundation programme.
Get in touch today to enquire about our BSL classes, private or group.
ITV Press release:
John’s eldest son, Joe, has an autoimmune condition causing progressive deafness. After a decade of trying to “fix” Joe’s hearing, the family come to the realisation that it is now time to reconsider and find out more about the Deaf Community. John has set himself the target of delivering an entire signed stand-up comedy gig to a deaf audience. That means mastering an entirely new language and an entirely new way of performing. Needless to say, he has a mountain to climb…
This moving documentary follows John and Joe’s journey into the deaf community and unpacks the issues the family have faced.
After months of preparations John will deliver his new set to a deaf audience - alongside established deaf comedians. Whatever happens, this will be the most demanding and challenging performance that he has ever delivered - and he’s hoping that the audience will be laughing for all the right reasons.
Joe & John Bishop: Life after Deaf is made by South Shore & Lola TV for ITV and ITV Hub. Charlie Melville is the Director. Andrew Mackenzie and Caroline O’Neill are Executive producers for South Shore. John Bishop and Lisa Thomas are executive producers for Lola TV. The programme is commissioned for ITV by David Smyth, Commissioner and Katie Rawcliffe, Head of Entertainment Commissioning.