It is currently World Parkinson’s Awareness Week. Or month, depending on how you look at it. It was World Parkinson’s Day on 11th April, James Parkinson’s birthday. But enough about him. Some of us sadly have to be only too aware of flaming Parkinson’s every single day. It’s a bit of a drag. (No pun intended.)
I was delighted to be asked to take part in a fundraiser to raise awareness about Parkinson’s, a comedy night held in Wellington, New Zealand. It was a great night, and I was lucky enough to meet some fabulous people from our community.
It got me thinking about comedy regarding disabilities. When I first began doing stand-up everyone thought I would be doing the same, stale old stuff about ‘shaken not stirred’, wank-jokes and falling over. I was warned that making fun of people and Parkinson’s was a sure-fire way to disaster.
However, that’s not my style. Laughing at someone with an uncontrollable tremor isn’t something I personally find that amusing. There’s so much more rope in pointing the finger at the unafflicted, the able-bodied, the smug healthy people. My act is all about the reactions I have experienced and trust me, there’s heaps of material there. Even the dear people from Parkinson’s NZ copped it from me. Everyone (and I mean everyone) kept saying how they were huge Parkinson’s supporters. Check out my link below to see what I thought of that.
For World Parkinson’s Day / Week / Month (in my case lifetime) I would like to share a little clip from Emma and myself. It’s short, funny and sad all at the same time. Oh – and another clip from the comedy night. I hope you enjoy it.
It’s a short one this week but hey – you get films! Keep smiling, keep moving, keep in touch.
Until next time, Kitty.
Kitty Fitton is a motivational speaker, MC and comedian. She is also a full-time blogger and writer. She is mother to four small people and was very cross to discover she had Parkinson’s Disease.
Find out more at her personal site below.
Emma Kyriacou is a real-life ninja. Taking up Karate to help fight her Parkinson’s Disease, she’s co-founder of Good Moves and is passionate about promoting exercise to improve mobility and neuroplasticity. (Is that a word? It should be.)
Find out more at her personal site below.
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