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. 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. "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.
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