7 h. ago Heard the one about the three vicars who went to the cinema – and were taught a lesson in tolerance? | Ravi Holy

Watching the film I Swear, at first I was irked by the shouting and swearing from an audience member. But I ended up thanking himWhat do vicars do in their spare time? Last week, I went with two friends, both fellow vicars, to see the new film I Swear. I knew from the trailer that it was about a man with Tourette syndrome (TS). What I didn’t know was that it was about a real person: John Davidson who was the subject of a 1989 BBC documentary called John’s Not Mad and who later received an MBE for his efforts to educate people about the condition and support his fellow sufferers.Before that programme, most people had never heard of TS. Nearly 40 years later, everybody (sort of) knows what it is, but it’s still often treated as a punchline – particularly on the comedy circuit.Ravi Holy is the vicar of Wye in Kent and a standup comedian Continue reading...

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20 h. ago London mauling: Kangaroos return to rule roost with harsh lesson for England | John Davidson

London mauling: Kangaroos return to rule roost with harsh lesson for England | John Davidson  The Guardian

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24 h. ago London mauling: Kangaroos return to rule roost with harsh lesson for Poms | John Davidson

London mauling: Kangaroos return to rule roost with harsh lesson for Poms | John Davidson  The Guardian

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2 w. ago I Swear review – A crowdpleaser about Tourette syndrome that isn’t at all treacly

Inspired by the story of campaigner John Davidson, this British indie occasionally adheres to tearjerking genre formula, but is also nicely subtle and smart about its hero’s disorder

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2 w. ago I Swear review – biopic of pioneering Tourette syndrome activist is funny, fierce and full of heart

Kirk Jones’s moving film about of John Davidson, the man who taught Britain about Tourette, offers compassion and catharsis Feelgood true-life heart-warmers about courageous people overcoming medical conditions are common enough. But not when that condition zaps and jabs and stabs at the genre itself, piercing the carapace of sentimentality while surreally commenting on the form and on the demure niceties of polite society, in which we all keep our thoughts to ourselves.Kirk Jones’s terrifically warm, generous film is about real-life activist John Davidson, who is from Galashiels in the Scottish Borders and has Tourette syndrome, with its tics, compulsive behaviour patterns and random obscene shouts. He was awarded an MBE in 2019 for his work educating the nation about the condition since he first exhibited its symptoms as a teenager in 1989, as captured in the BBC’s sensational documentary John’s Not Mad. I Swear contains a great performance from Robert Aramayo, full of intelligenc...

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2 w. ago I Swear: Scot with Tourettes whose life inspired hit film visits cinema for first time in 40 years

John Davidson’s life inspired film I Swear

Events

3 w. ago I Swear actor Robert Aramayo: ‘Like anybody who hasn’t had education, I thought it was all about swearing’

Formerly seen as a young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones and as Elrond in The Rings of Power, he is creating a buzz with his role as Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson. It taught him a lot, he says – but it’s a huge responsibilityKirk Jones was feeling nervous. The director was two weeks away from shooting his new film, a biopic of the pioneering Scottish Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson, and he still hadn’t seen his lead actor perform any of the script. Jones had been impressed by Robert Aramayo in the supernatural Netflix series Behind Her Eyes, and liked the actor when they met over Zoom.He then invited him to Galashiels, to meet Davidson in his home town, where he was convinced Aramayo was the right choice for the role. “I was confident enough not to feel the need to meet 50 other actors and audition them,” he says. But “I didn’t ask him to read”, he admits. “Looking back, I think that was insane.” Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Actor Robert Aramayo: ‘Like anybody who hasn’t had the education, I thought Tourette’s was all about swearing’

Formerly seen as a young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones and as Elrond in The Rings of Power, Aramayo is creating a buzz with his role as the condition’s campaigner John Davidson in I Swear. It taught him a lot, he says – but it’s a huge responsibilityKirk Jones was feeling nervous. The director was two weeks away from shooting his new film, a biopic of the pioneering Scottish Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson, and he still hadn’t seen his lead actor perform any of the script. Jones had been impressed by Robert Aramayo in the supernatural Netflix series Behind Her Eyes, and liked the actor when they met over Zoom.He then invited him to Galashiels, to meet Davidson in his home town, where he was convinced Aramayo was the right choice for the role. “I was confident enough not to feel the need to meet 50 other actors and audition them,” he says. But “I didn’t ask him to read”, he admits. “Looking back, I think that was insane.” Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago I Swear star Maxine Peake on impact John Davidson had on her understanding of Tourette syndrome as a young girl

Maxine Peake has explained the impact John Davidson had on her generation on understanding Tourette syndrome.

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3 w. ago How John Davidson used fishing to help actors tell his story in I Swear

John Davidson has revealed how he helped the actors who portrayed him in the film I Swear get into character - and it involved a fishing trip.

Politics

3 w. ago Big Brother legend Pete Bennett makes rare public appearance at screening of Tourette's campaigner John Davidson's biopic I Swear

Pete Bennett was crowned winner of the legendary reality show back in 2006, in a series that also featured the late Nikki Grahame, Imogen Thomas and Grace Adams-Short as housemates.

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