A darkly humorous and confronting exploration of soldiers returning from Afghanistan, Red Stitch presents the Victorian Premiere of Glory Dazed – a blistering response to the over representation of ex-servicemen in UK prisons. Inspired by workshops conducted with real prisoners, UK Playwright, Cat Jones has created an unflinching revelation of a man teetering on the brink.
Ray isn’t adjusting to civilian life after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Ray is on the run. So traumatic is Ray’s experience that returning to his old life with wife Carla and best friend Simon is near impossible and he begins to drink himself into violence and regret. In a bold attempt to win Carla back and convince her that their family is worth fighting for, he enforces a dangerous lock-in at his local pub.
Dangerous, comic and touching, Glory Dazed is a timeless message about expectations of servicemen returning from foreign wars, the trials of adjusting to civilian life and the challenge of maintaining mental stability. Made from stories of real-life returned soldiers, it is a comment on the impact of war after war. Glory Dazed is gritty, gripping, pounding-against-your-head theatre that doesn’t let its audience sit easy.
Winner of the BBC Alfred Bradley Award for Radio Drama in 2011, Glory Dazed was subsequently adapted for the stage. It was produced at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Fest as part of the Old Vic New Voices season, winning the Holden Street Theatre Award which took the production to Adelaide for five weeks in 2013 – where it won the Critics Choice ‘Best Play’ in the Festival, after which it transferred to Soho Theatre Upstairs.
Cat Jones is the winner of the 2013 Pearson Playwright Award and is under commission to the Royal Exchange Theatre and Old Vic under the TS Eliot Commissions Project.
Director: Greg Carroll Featuring: Jonathan Peck, Emily Goddard, Andre de Vanny, Laura Jane Turner Set Designer: Peter Mumford Lighting Designer: Rebecca Etchell Assistant Director: Spencer Scholz Stage Manager: Elizabeth Downes
Glory Dazed
Red Stitch Theatre, Rear 2, Chapel Street, St. Kilda East
Season: 23 July – 23 August 2014
Bookings: (03) 9533 8083 or online at: www.redstitch.net
For more information, visit: www.redstitch.net for details.
Image: courtesy of Red Stitch Actors Theatre
