Written and produced by deaf creator William Mager, Series Mania premiere “Reunion” never leaves its lead’s side.
“I’ve seen stories of deaf characters told from a hearing person’s point of view. This show says what it means to be a deaf person from the point of view of a deaf person,” says Luke Snellin, who directed the series.
“What is it like to sit in front of a probation officer, explaining you’re deaf? We would take the sound away or put the camera behind his head and over his ear – precisely to put the audience in his shoes.”
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Mager adds: “When you are deaf, communication is difficult anyway. But it’s also difficult to talk about things that happened to you, things that are hard to process. It can be hard to open up.”
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Especially for his tortured protagonist, played by Matthew Gurney: fresh out of prison after being found guilty of murder years ago. The tragedy left his community – and his family – reeling and begging for answers. But instead of explaining his motives, Brennan seeks justice. Alone.
Mager thought about classic ‘70s and ‘80s films when working on the story.
“In a classic thriller, a man gets out of prison and goes on a mission of revenge. These things feel familiar and watchable, and Brennan starts out as this ‘strong, silent type,’ but we play a trick: we start with one thing and then it becomes something different. Something more emotional, more heartfelt,” he explains.
Along the way, Brennan gets some company. He reunites with his daughter and has to face the child and the wife of his victim – and her new cop boyfriend (Rose Ayling-Ellis, Anne-Marie Duff and Eddie Marsan).
“At first, we don’t really know who Brennan is – he’s a mystery. Then we start to see more and more of his past. The hope is that the audience starts to understand his struggle and him being disabled by the system, really,” says Snellin.
“There are flashback fragments, all born out of Brennan’s fragmented memories. As he begins to open up, the images begin to align in order. He understands what really happened to him and learns to confront it.”
First bilingual series in both sign language and spoken language to be presented at France’s Series Mania, “Reunion” is a Warp Films production sold by BBC Studios.
“We didn’t want to make a show with deaf cast and a hearing crew. It really was a bilingual set,” explains producer Gwen Gorst.
“There’s always been a lot of love for the script and BBC got on board early. Whenever you try to do something different, for example in terms of bilingual elements, there’s a bit of trepidation. But we’ve been lucky. People embraced it.”
Mager agrees: “I’ve been on sets with only deaf cast and the crew looked bored. They were mentally and emotionally checked out – just not interested. Here, I saw people genuinely believing in the premise of the show.”
Casting so many deaf actors in the show made him proud, he reveals.
“When I watch the end credits, I get very emotional. I’ve known some of them for 20 years. But we also had fantastic hearing actors who wanted to be involved and learn sign language.”
Lara Peake, playing Brennan’s daughter, learnt it over the course of five weeks, says Snellin, crediting the interpreters as a “key part of the process.”
“This job has changed my outlook on a number of things. It has changed my life, actually, and my perception of deaf community and deaf culture really shifted.”
Snellin also learnt to sign, underlines Mager.
“You threw yourself in it! You really understood the responsibility on your shoulders to do deaf community justice and make sure they were represented well. When deaf actors and deaf crew went out for drinks at the end of the shoot day, Luke was there too.”
“Authenticity comes through so clearly on the screen and it was one of the reasons why BBC and BBC Studios backed it. It’s Billy’s writing, Luke’s directing and Warp’s distinctive cinematic style, all coming together,” said Nick Lee, commercial director of drama and comedy at BBC Studios, admitting there’s been “lots of interest from broadcasters in Europe.”
“It’s such a specific show. It’s this crime-thriller dynamic and one man’s journey of redemption with such relatable themes as parental love, clearing your name and seeking justice. We are very confident it’s going to travel.”
