Deaf Mugger

A deaf thief falls out with his interpreter in this comedy caper

A snappy sketch about a deaf mugger, his victim and an interpreter who discovers that her client is more of a challenge than she has bargained for. Writer Ben Green, who also stars as ‘the victim’, once worked as a booker for interpreters and takes some creative inspiration here from the government’s Access to Work scheme, which pays for disabled people to get the assistance they need to do their job properly.

Deciding that even criminals would have access needs, Green and director William Mager created a work that playfully confounds stereotypes of passivity, helplessness and victim-hood. Shot and edited in just one hour, Mager’s film was first posted on YouTube but enjoyed a significant audience boost after it was promoted on social media by Stephen Fry.