Join us to watch the highly acclaimed film of the life of John Davidson, a Tourette syndrome campaigner who grew up with the condition in 1980s Scotland, at a time when it was little known and misunderstood.

Doors open from 7:00pm, screening starts at 7:30pm.

Reserve your free tickets here!

In 1983, 12-year-old John Davidson lives with his working class family in Galashiels, a town in the Scottish Borders. With aspirations to become a football player, John begins his high school term at Galashiels Academy. After hearing that a scout will assess his skills as a goalie, John begins experiencing episodes of tics and uncontrollable echolalia. The head teacher responds to this by whipping John’s hand with a belt. This injury and his tics mean he performs poorly at football, much to the disappointment of his father. John is banished from the dining table by his mother after spitting and soon after he and his siblings are told that their father has left. John, distraught, attempts suicide by walking into a river, but is quickly rescued and wakes up in hospital.

In 1996, John at 25 years old is still living with his mother and is officially diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome. There is no known cure and John is medicated, but his tics remains an embarrassment. Murray, a friend of John’s from school, returned to town from Australia after his mother is diagnosed with liver cancer. Murray invites John over to his house for dinner, which John does his best to avoid. Dotty, Murray’s mother and a mental health nurse, senses John’s discomfort and asks him about his medication. She informs the family that she wants John to stay with them.

Cert 15