★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Life After Deaf focuses on comedian and Doctor Who actor John Bishop and his son Joe, who, at 15, unexpectedly lost his hearing to a virus, later being diagnosed with Cogan syndrome (a progressive autoimmune disorder that can attack the ear tissue). The documentary follows John and Joe on their Sign Language Journey, preparing John for a solo comedy show using BSL, but also to communicate more with his son as his hearing loss progresses. Melanie, Joe’s mum was surprised when John devised the plan, and that Joe was willing to attend the lessons, “Joe’s never embraced anything about his deafness” she admits. This soon becomes painfully clear that the same can be said of John, reluctant to introduce Joe to the deaf community because he was, “scared of him becoming part of it, [having] to admit he wasn’t going to get better.”
Joe shares the tumultuous emotions and anger that came with this sudden disability, his mum having to deal with it alone, whilst Bishop was away on tour.
In their BSL lessons, Joe’s captivated by their teacher, Bob. “He has a good vibe. It was nice to see. Because I am not proud to not hear very well, to tell you the truth.” Joe says. And John equally impressed, “It was nice to be in an environment where being deaf or hard of hearing wasn’t seen as negative.”
The profound moment that spoke to me as a deaf person was when Bishop spoke to Oliver, one of the deaf teachers. Oliver shared that he lost his hearing at a young age and that it was challenging, he says “if you’re in a hearing family and everyone’s talking around the table, you tend to go back a bit because you’re not sure what’s being said” which highlights the struggles that deaf people have experienced.
It is Joe himself that goes through a transformative experience during his BSL lessons, going from someone who saw becoming deaf, as “a punishment” to something that he is “no longer scared of”.
Overall, this documentary really shows insight into the deaf world and how it can impact both the individual and the family. I felt seen, like the anger that I had of being deaf and wanting to be normal was a common experience. Although I was deaf for as long as I can remember, I still feel the anger and hurt that I can’t just join in conversation with my family or miss jokes because everyone’s talking over each other. Life After Deaf is so eye opening and so real to deaf people that I actually want more stories and more people to talk about this with.
Review by Ciara McCarthy
John & Joe Bishop: Life After Deaf is available on ITVHub
