It’s rare that you come across a play that produces so much tension that you fear for your safety and the safety of those around you. The last time I experienced such profound discomfort during a show was whilst watching a production of Sarah Kane’s Blasted at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow and that was many, many years ago now.
This evening, I was paralysed with fear as ex-serviceman Ray thundered the stage. This is someone I’ve met before. Someone many of us have probably come into contact with at some point. A former soldier with a torturous sense of humour and a relentless violent streak that can rear its ugly head at the slightest change of temperature.
Developed with ex-servicemen prisoners at HMP and YOI Doncaster, Glory Dazed sees a bloodied Ray force his way into a pub in an effort to win his wife back. Getting an erratic thug who fought in Afghanistan to leave a public house, however, is no easy feat and when his behaviour becomes increasingly disruptive, some truths must be confronted about what he has become and what is to become of him.
There are no easy answers in Glory Dazed and this truth is both brutal and refreshing. Whilst we understand, as much as we can, the psychiatric and behavioural consequences of war and even appreciate Ray’s rich sense of humour (well, some of it), the question needs to be asked about what he was like before his experience. It doesn’t appear that he was ever exactly the shy and retiring type and tended to treat his wife with an enormous amount of disrespect. Was he always a monster just waiting to be awoken?
The performances are mind-blowing. The actors draw you into this world and scrub away the audience/performer divide. We are all sitting at this bar watching Hell kick off and it’s no easy ride, but well worth it in the end.
This is true stomach-churning theatre, but it’s not without its laughs. It will make you think and will no doubt make you drink. Glory Dazed is jaw-dropping theatre.
Show Times: 22nd-26th Aug, 5:00pm
Ticket Prices: Aug 22nd-23rd: £10.00 (£9.00). Aug 24th-26th: £11.00 (£10.00)