Maritime show offers comedic look at wheelchair users’ experiences

As a wheelchair user, Maritime actor Brian George has faced countless frustrations and obstacles.

“People parking in accessible parking that don’t need to be parked in accessible parking,” George told CTV Atlantic’s Katie Kelly on Monday. “People pushing my chair without asking, that drives me absolutely up the wall. I don’t know how many times I’ll be wheeling somewhere and rather than just ask, someone will just grab the back of my chair.”

George’s experiences provided the inspiration for “Roll With It,” a comedy show that recently released its second season on Bell Fibe TV1.

“It’s definitely a comedy,” George said. “We did talk very briefly about making it more of a serious show, but I’ve always had a sense of humour.

“I say all the time if I didn’t have a sense of humour, I might not be here today.”

George hopes people will laugh at the show while also learning a bit about etiquette.

“The show is not to scold people, it’s not to point fingers,” he said. “We’re trying to make a funny spin at it, but also raise awareness that these things are not okay and people really need to stop doing these things.”

Actor Brian George stars in Roll With It. (Source: CTV News Atlantic)

George said accessibility in the Maritimes has made some strides forward, but there is still much work to be done.

“If you can have a ramp, but if there’s no accessible washroom, well, that’s not good enough,” he said. “If you don’t have a ramp, but you have an accessible washroom…that makes no sense and unfortunately that’s something that I’ve run into many, many times.”