Glory Dazed

Written in response to the large number of ex-servicemen in prison, Glory Dazed is a powerful and affecting look at adjusting to life in the UK after military service. Part of the Old Vic New Voices Edinburgh season, it started life as a radio play, but has been seamlessly adapted for the stage complete with an intricate set. The action takes place entirely in a Doncaster pub: it’s decked out in worn wooden tables, wonky optics and fading wallpaper, emanating the sense of despair and neglect its characters feel. Ray, an aggressive, hard-drinking ex-army man, bursts into the pub—which is run by his best friend Simon—looking for his ex-wife Carla. Nobody wants him there, except Leanne, the young barmaid eager for some drama to break up her dull life.

What follows is a tense hour that takes an unflinching look at the problems that face ex-military men when they return home, and the rifts that their changed personalities create between them and their loved ones. The cast is excellent, and Samuel Edward-Cook particularly shines as the often repulsive but sympathetic Ray. Cat Jones’s script is taut, funny and well-researched. It was created in response to discussion groups with ex-servicemen prisoners, who are said to make up between three and ten per cent of the UK’s prison population.

The production company, Second Shot, is a social enterprise based in HMP and YOI Doncaster and counts a few ex-servicemen prisoners among its crew. These elements lend the show an authenticity and strong voice, imploring us to not just consider the strains of everyday life on ex-servicemen but to help them too.