Latest news with #WilliamMager
Telegraph
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Reunion, review: thriller told with BSL shows that silence can be a powerful weapon
In a TV landscape dominated by emotive soundtracks, shouting and explosions, silence is a powerful weapon. Reunion (BBC One), a revenge thriller about a deaf man released from prison after 10 years who sets out on a mission to right some corrosive wrongs, uses that weapon to shrewd effect. Written by deaf scriptwriter William Mager, it's a bilingual series featuring a mixture of British Sign Language, spoken English and some subtitles. With a mainly deaf production crew and a mission to present Sheffield's deaf community authentically, Reunion could easily have become 'that deaf show', cart before horse. But this is an excellent four-parter that never lets its own backstory overshadow the enduring demands of good drama. The superb Matthew Gurney plays Daniel Brennan, who as the series begins has just been released. We discover that Brennan killed one of his oldest and closest friends, Ray (Ace Mahbaz), in an unexplained attack. Piece by piece, dropping clues like crumbs and using flashbacks and reveals, the show explains it. There is an element of deliberate withholding of information and fear of mid-series slump here that at times grates. By the end of the fourth episode it's apparent that Reunion is a very good show but merely a quite good thriller. But you wouldn't want to find out what happened to Brennan at all if you didn't find him intriguing and it is here that Reunion excels. Brennan's character is a brilliant creation – he is the strong, silent action hero who can crack a few skulls, but he is also a perennial outsider, spurned by the deaf community and the non-deaf alike. This deaf man neither wants nor gets your pity. He is dislikable, a hothead and a fool but he is never a victim. It means that while he fits within one TV stereotype – white, male, capricious anti-hero – he breaks right out of another. Technically, Reunion is also a tour de force, using subtitles, sound effects and that precious silence judiciously so that the viewer's sense of another world that operates on a different frequency is a continual, subtle surprise. That has the happy side-effect of creating a show that looks and feels like no other – in the age of streaming superabundance, this is distinctly welcome.
BBC News
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Reunion: Bristol-based screenwriter 'proud' of bilingual series
The writer of a "groundbreaking" new bilingual thriller which uses both British Sign Language (BSL) and spoken English has said he is "proud" to see the show on the four-part series, called Reunion, was written by William Mager from Bristol and stars actors Eddie Marsan and Rose show follows a deaf man determined to right his wrongs while unearthing the truth behind the events that led him to be Mager, who is also deaf, said he wanted to write something "thrilling" that "just happened to include a deaf character". The screenwriter said the show feels like a "new way of telling these stories"."We've had stories before that have deaf characters in them, but having a group of deaf actors and deaf characters and hearing characters who use sign language as well is unusual," he said."Scenes with two deaf characters conversing one another together in sign language and subtitles for hearing viewers - I think that's groundbreaking maybe." Mr Mager said he is "really proud" of the script, which he said he wrote for himself."I wanted to write something thrilling and appealing that just so happened to include a deaf person who uses sign language," he actor and radio BBC Radio Bristol presenter Joe Sims, who also stars in Reunion, said he is "absolutely delighted" to be part of the show."Billy is a good friend of mine. I read it [his script] and it was absolutely incredible," he four-part series aired on Monday evening and can be watched on the BBC iPlayer.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Anne-Marie Duff's Sheffield-based BBC revenge thriller gets dramatic first look
The BBC has released some first-look images of Reunion, an upcoming four-part revenge thriller. Written by Sheffield-born deaf writer William Mager, Reunion is set and filmed in his home city (as well as the Peak District) and features heavy use of BSL/British Sign Language. Deaf actor Matthew Gurney leads the series as Daniel Brennan, a man who already found himself separated from the world due to his disability, and became ostracised from his own community when he was arrested for a heinous crime. Related: Best streaming services A decade on from his arrest, he is determined to uncover the truth behind the events that led to his incarceration, and rebuild his relationship with estranged daughter Carly, played by Rivals' Carly. Someone else who wants to get to the bottom of what happened 10 years ago is a woman named Christine, played by Bad Sisters' Anne-Marie Duff. Her boyfriend Stephen and daughter Miri are played by Back to Black's Eddie Marsan and EastEnders star and Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis, respectively. These image showcase the show's main cast members, emphasising the uneasy relationship between Daniel and Carly, as well as the characters communicating in BSL. "Reunion is an amazing storyline and is completely different from my previous work," Gurney said. "My character Brennan is on a wildly different journey than that portrayed by normal deaf lives, this portrays a man who is hated within the deaf community. It shows how deaf people react and act on screen in an honest and authentic way. Related: "We are different to hearing actors, we are so much more visual storytellers. It's not about relying on sound, it's about using your eyes and seeing what is going on in the story." Peake added: "There's so much in Reunion that people can relate to from the relationships and storyline to what it feels like to be isolated from a community and welcomed into a community. "To be able to watch a show that is led by deaf actors is incredible and the inclusion of sign language is not seen often enough. It's a real opportunity to learn and become fascinated and immersed in that world." Reunion is due to air on BBC One and stream on BBC iPlayer soon. at £49.99 at at £99.00 at Amazon£328.00 at at EE at Audible£18.99 at at at Amazon at at at at at EE at at at at at EE at Sky Mobile at at Game at at at at at at at at at at Game at Three at at at at at at at at at AO at at at at at at at at Fitbit£24.00 at at at at at John Lewis at at at at at £119.00 at at at John Lewis & Partners£157.00 at John Lewis at at at Amazon£44.99 at at at at at at at at Fitbit at at Three at at at at at Amazon£184.00 at John Lewis & Partners£15.99 at Amazon at at at at at at Amazon at Apple at at at at at at Three£21.99 at at at at at at John Lewis at Audible at at EE at at at at at at EE at £32.99 at Amazon at at at at at at Apple at at at John Lewis at at at at £79.00 at Samsung at Three$365.00 at Microsoft at at John Lewis£449.00 at John Lewis£79.98 at at at at at Samsung£1199.00 at AO at crunchyroll£22.00 at Amazon$365.00 at Microsoft£92.98 at at at Microsoft at at John Lewis & Partners£79.98 at at at at at at Amazon at at John Lewis£269.99 at at John Lewis & Partners at at now at at at Microsoft at at at at John Lewis£6.65 at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at You Might Also Like PS5 consoles for sale – PlayStation 5 stock and restocks: Where to buy PS5 today? IS MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 THE BEST IN THE SERIES? OUR REVIEW AEW game is a modern mix of No Mercy and SmackDown
