Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Cast: John Simm, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Katie Leung, Anthony Hayes, Tom Wu, Emilia Fox, Dervla Kirwan, Thomas Chaahing, Jason Wong, Christophe Tek, Rosalind Halstead, Kae Alexander, Tim McInnerny, Steve Broad, Ryan McKen, Nicholas R. Bailey, Raquel Cassidy.

Writing in a team can be beneficial, it can spark ideas and literary notions that might not have come into being had the specific drama or comedy not been had influx of creativity attached to it and yet at times it can feel as if the old proverb of too many cooks is not only apt, but can feel as though the resulting broth is one that completely should be taken out of the pan and never be shown to the viewer.

It takes a good team to carry it off such a feat of endurance, where too many plots wrestle and dictate that they should be regarded for the overall story-line can be seen to dilute the pace and the cast, that in all honesty, becomes like Strangers, never really finding a common ground in which to make the programme work.

Team-work, the new adage of the times, and whilst co-operation works in everyday life, quite often it can make the television or film experience somewhat draining, too often the viewer gets almost mugged by the unfamiliarity of who they are following, and with more writers, there invariably comes a larger cast, a set of actors again with their own demands, strangers all in this feast of over-egging the plot.

Despite everything that could have gone against Strangers, the sense of obligation to each cast member riding high in the minds of those who see through to the end of the eight-part drama, the uniqueness of portraying the female in the relationship as the one with the double life is one that deserves applause. We all have secrets after all, but a woman is arguably more astute when it comes to keeping hers closer to her chest and this is reflected with sincerity by Dervla Kirwan’s character as she creates a life with John Simm’s Jonah and Anthony Chau-Sang Wong’s David Chen.

The double life is one that we can perhaps never truly understand, it is hard enough to carry out the duties in one existence, to wear more than one mask is too carry with confidence the belief we have in ourselves to the point of breaking.

It is though, a reflection that we are allowed this look behind the mask, the writers mirroring the post British rule of Hong Kong with assured definition of personality, not quite Chinese, still in some respects hanging onto days which have long gone, and still finding the right face to wear on the international scene. The writing, sympathetic to the nature of this particularly complex issue, perhaps finds solace in the team effort and keeps the narrative moving, albeit at times with a sense of restraint, one that brings out a different acting dynamic in John Simm, one though that again resolutely points to his in-depth quality as an actor.

It is in the act of betrayal that we see how we can live two lives, it is in the act of love that masks can be worn, not to hide our feelings, but to protect those we hold close. In the end we are Strangers to each other, sometimes though we find a way to not be outsiders.

Ian D. Hall