CEO takes to the skies to demo innovative electronic signature technology

THE Chief Executive of a Liverpool electronic signature innovator used his company's software to sign a new employee contract from a helicopter flying over the City. Videosign Chief Executive Steven Tallant took to the skies to meet new Customer Success Manager Jamie Wilson and sign his new contract of employment remotely. Steven said:- "I've always said that our software offers businesses the flexibility to work from any location, but this proves that Videosign can be used literally anywhere you can get an internet connection. As well as offering our users convenience and efficiency, we also provide security features that provide incontrovertible evidence that signatures on documents are genuine."

Videosign is an online meeting service for remotely witnessing signatures of legal documents. Facial recognition software is used to verify the identity of signatories before tamper proof electronic signatures are made, witnessed by everyone in the meeting and backed up with video and metadata evidence.

New recruit Jamie's contract signing was witnessed in person by colleague Maria Murphy and the aerial meeting and signature was recorded via the Videosign platform. Jamie said:- "When I joined Videosign I never imagined I'd be talking to my new boss while he was in a helicopter, but it just goes to show how using the platform allows you to do business with colleagues and clients anywhere in the world; it eliminates the need to rely on face to face meetings even when signing contracts and documents."

The opportunity to hold the airborne meeting came about thanks to a friend of Steven's who is training to be a commercial helicopter pilot. Steven said:- "My pilot friend was planning a flight to log as part of his training, and invited me to join him - using it as an opportunity to demonstrate the possibilities offered by Videosign was too good to miss."

Videosign, with bases in both Liverpool and Glasgow, supports businesses in a wide range of sectors, including:- financial advice and conveyancing. The company recently released a new instant access version of the platform, allowing small businesses to sign up and start using Videosign immediately.

Gritty dance theatre show Downtown coming to Ormskirk prior to London premiere

2021 and 2022 Double National Dance Awards nominee Rhiannon Faith Company's new show that holds a tender and honest mirror to a society at tipping point finally takes to the stage after Covid cancellations

Choreographer Rhiannon Faith's newly staged show Downtown, was originally slated for a live world premiere at London's Barbican in June 2020 followed by a tour, Downtown can finally be seen this autumn on a tour that includes a date on 18 October 2022, at The Arts Centre, Ormskirk and culminates in a London Premiere on 10 November 2022.

In the show 6 strangers, weighed down by individual darkness, come to a deprived coastal land. Seemingly abandoned, there is no 1 to help but themselves. Stuck between the remains of a broken community and the vast bleakness of the sea, they struggle with isolation, shame and failed support systems.

In the wake of the lockdown cancellations Faith created a short 'prequel' film Downtown Lockdown followed by a full length Downtown film. Both were widely and enthusiastically acclaimed by viewers and critics, but nothing is a substitute for the full live experience.

Dark, uncompromising and moving yet, accessible, tender and physically stunning, Downtown continues the vein of gritty dance theatre from this radical choreographer. Bold and brave, at times bleak (in keeping with its subject matter), the show uses autobiographical testimonials and text to give voice to the vulnerable and unheard in modern Britain's areas of social deprivation. With tenderness and honesty, the show holds up a mirror to a society at tipping point. Downtown is here to try to help save our world from drowning.

said Rhiannon:- "So many communities are broken, people are drowning, so something must be going wrong, The conversations have dried up and what exists within us, wounds and emotion, just gets pushed down to the sea bed. I want to reopen those conversations urgently. With the extended and combined fallouts of Covid, Brexit and the cost of living and energy crises, Downtown is, if anything, more relevant in 2022 than it was 3 years ago."

When originally scheduled and then rescheduled Downtown was named in the Evening Standard's 8 'Best dance shows to see in 2020' and The Guardian's top 5 tips for 2021. See the trailer on YouTube.

Before creating the show Rhiannon undertook extensive research into areas of social deprivation. She added:- "I spent research residencies in coastal towns including:- Jaywick, Clacton on Sea and Great Yarmouth, all places with a strong sense of community and identity but also some of the highest levels of social and economic deprivation in the UK. Happy destinations for holiday goers that become full of darkness and degradation when left behind."

Social exclusion and isolation are rife in such places with high rates of unemployment, long term health problems and high demand on underfunded local services. They also tend to lack frequent and reliable public transport and high-speed internet. Recent research suggests that loneliness can increase the risk of premature death by 30%. 9 million people in the UK say they often feel lonely, 7% of 18 to 64 year olds feel socially isolated, rising to 11% for over 65's.

Performed and devised with a cast of 6 (Dominic Coffey, Sam Ford, Shelley Eva Haden, Donald Hutera, Finetta Oliver Mikolajska and Marla King) the show shines a light on:- individual suffering and discusses loneliness, social isolation, bereavement and suicide. Suitable for over 16s, it contains strong language and scenes that some may find upsetting.

Downtown is co-produced by Harlow Playhouse. Commissioned by Cambridge Junction with commissioning support from DanceEast. Supported by:- Brighton Dome and Festival Ltd, South East Dance, and using public funding by Arts Council England.

Rhiannon Faith Company makes radically tender dance theatre, working nationally on big stages and locally with communities on the margins, always with social change and care at its heart. Based in Harlow, Essex, with nation wide impact, they are making bold, ambitious moves to secure a future as global leaders in original dance theatre with a social purpose, to champion community transformation and authentic belonging for all.

The company has been nominated for 4 National Dance Awards; 'Best Independent Company' 2021 and 2022, 'Best Digital Choreography' (Downtown LOCKDOWN) in 2021 and 'Best Dance Film' (Downtown live film) in 2022. In addition, Rhiannon Faith RhiannonFaith.Com was nominated for an AWA Women In Dance Leadership Award 2022.

To get tickets to see the event on Tuesday, 18 October 2022, from 7.30pm, at The Arts Centre, Edge Hill University, St Helen's Rd, Ormskirk, (L394QP) please contact the University's Arts Center by calling:- 01695584480.