Brian Duffy (actor)

Brian Duffy is a Scottish actor, writer and Visual Vernacular artist.[1][2] He is Deaf and uses British Sign Language.

Personal life

He achieved a BA (Hons) in Video and Film Production from the University of Wolverhampton.[3]

Career

He is credited with co-creating the first sitcom in British Sign Language, called Small World, along with Ace Mahbaz.[4][5] The comedy series features Visual Vernacular, and relies on physical humour, facial expressions and in-jokes to bring comedy that is effective for a Deaf audience. They created the series directly in Sign Language, filming lines directly in Sign Language rather than writing the script down, and developed the series further with a series of workshops with the actors.[citation needed] He has appeared on short videos.

Duffy has played in many stage adaptations, including Love's Labour's Lost and 4.48 Psychosis with Deafinitely Theatre, and has worked as a Sign Language consultant on Troilus and Cressida with the Royal Shakespeare Company.[6][7] In 2020 Duffy performed in a theatrical adaptation of a scene from the 1993 Irvine Welsh novel Trainspotting for The National Theatre of Scotland's Scenes for Survival series, Strolling Through the Meadows.[8]

Advocacy

Duffy is an advocate for Deaf persons and Deaf culture. He has endorsed the creation of media that utilizes sign language as well as sign-presented TV, as he feels that "hearing people would understand a lot of deaf people much more if they were to see programmes like that [Small World]".[9] Of the language, Duffy has stated that "Sign language recorded on camera is exactly the same as writing on paper - it is the only way of archiving our language and culture."[10]

Filmography

Film

  • The Guest (2009, short film)[2]
  • The End (2011, short film, as Arron - Man)
  • Love's Labour's Lost: Performed in British Sign Language (2012, as Boyet)
  • You, Me (2012, short film, as Mark)
  • Retreat (2013, short film)

Television

  • Wicked (2009, 4 episodes, as Doctor Buff)
  • Silent Witness (2015, "Sniper's Nest Pt 1 & 2", as Andrew)
  • Small World (2014-2016, as Ryan)
  • Small World (2016, TV short, as Ryan)

Theatre performances

References

  1. ^ Kusters and Jordan Fenlon, Annelies; Fenlon, Jordan (3 April 2020). "Creating a linguistically diverse deaf sitcom through improvisation". Creative Multilingualism.
  2. ^ a b "Dumbarton acting star Brian wows the world with his talent". Daily Record. 30 April 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Graduate behind first British Sign Language sitcom". University of Wolverhampton. December 2015.
  4. ^ "Small World". BSL Zone.
  5. ^ McLean, Marc (12 February 2016). "Brian's Small World making a big impact". Lennox Herald.
  6. ^ "Duffy". Deaf Explorer.
  7. ^ "In conversation with Brian Duffy". Royal Shakespeare Company. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  8. ^ "National Theatre Of Scotland Announces New Scenes For Survival Films, First BBC Scotland Broadcasts and iPlayer Releases". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  9. ^ "'A world first': Meet the deaf actors of the sign language sitcom filmed in Salford". Mancunian Matters. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Should there be a TV channel just for sign language users?". BBC News. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  11. ^ Gillinson, Miriam (25 September 2018). "4.48 Psychosis review – Kane's swansong is spoken, signed, mimed and danced". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  12. ^ "4.48 Psychosis review, New Diorama, London, 2018". The Stage. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  13. ^ McMillan, Joyce (25 July 2020). "Theatre Reviews: Scenes for Survival". The Scotsman. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Scenes for Survival: Strolling Through the Meadows". National Theatre of Scotland. Retrieved 30 December 2020.