How 'deaf rage' inspired groundbreaking sign language thriller

Writer William Mager spoke to the BBC about how "deaf rage" and 70s thrillers inspired his new series Reunion

"Every day, as a deaf person, you're reminded of your deafness," says William Mager, writer of new BBC thriller Reunion.

These reminders can range from having to face medical appointments with no available interpreter to being excluded from important decisions about your own life, he says.

"All those things add up over time and generate a sense of injustice," Mager says, adding that artist Christine Sun Kim describes this feeling as "deaf rage".

It is a feeling partly borne out of the frustration and isolation of living in a hearing-centred world.

This rage, alongside a love of 70s thrillers, is what inspired Mager's new drama.

The bilingual thriller features both British Sign Language (BSL), with subtitles, and spoken English. The majority of the cast in Reunion are deaf or use BSL in their roles.

The four-part series, from the producers of Adolescence, tells the story of Daniel Brennan (Matthew Gurney), a deaf man on a journey of revenge after spending a decade in prison.

Mager, a lifelong fan of 70s thrillers, says he wanted to put his own "twist" on films like Get Carter and The Outfit (which feature "intimidating men in cool clothes" on a mission of vengeance) by drawing on the deaf experience as well.

"Reunion starts out like those classic thrillers, but ends up in a very different place," the writer says.

As main character Brennan hunts down a man known only as Monroe, viewers become aware of a painful secret he's been hiding and the struggles he is facing to find justice in a hearing-centred world.

The Guardian called the performances in the show "outstanding" and the switch between signed and spoken language "utterly seamless", while the Independent says Reunion is "in many ways, a groundbreaking show".

Ultimately, Mager says he wanted to touch on issues unique to the deaf community in the programme, as well as providing opportunities for deaf creatives.

'Unfortunately, that's still the reality'

Mager says communication is a central theme of Reunion and the drama shows how each character struggles with it.

One key example is a scene where Brennan's daughter Carly has to pass on painful information to her mother and father that would usually be relayed by professionals, due to a lack of interpreters.

"Unfortunately, that's still the reality today," Mager says, explaining his wife recently experienced this, having to interpret for her mother at a hospital appointment, because an interpreter had not been booked.

Mager says this shows how deaf people often have to rely on someone else voicing them in order to be understood.

"That can be hard for a deaf person to relinquish that control over what they're saying to someone else," he says.

Lara Peake (left) and Matthew Gurney (right) play Carly and Brennan in the series

Another thing Mager wanted to draw attention to was literacy rates in deaf children.

A key plot point in Reunion is that Brennan is unable to read or write in English which, coupled with the prison's failure to book interpreters, means he misses important letters from his daughter and does not have his case details fully explained.

"Deaf children often lag behind their hearing counterparts in education, particularly [in] reading and writing," Mager says.

The writer adds that, in his opinion, this is partly due to language deprivation, resulting from deaf children not being given access to the language they're most comfortable with from a young age.

According to Simon Want, from the National Deaf Children's Society, many deaf children face barriers to accessing a good education.

The majority of the cast in Reunion are deaf or use BSL in their roles

'I hope that door stays open'

Mager says it was a "joy" to see the actors both deaf and hearing bringing his script to life.

On set, deaf first assistant director Sam Arnold worked with hearing first assistant director Alex Szygowski to relay directions to the cast and crew.

And hearing actors Anne-Marie Duff and Lara Peake learned to sign for their roles.

"They're all fantastic. My favourite thing about making Reunion has been to see the genuine enthusiasm and excitement [of] the cast and crew," Mager says.

The writer adds that he hopes the series will "open a door" for deaf creatives both in front of and behind the camera.

"I hope that door stays open long enough for more people to pass through it and find creative and fulfilling careers," he says.