Review – Glory Dazed
Glory Dazed took my breath away. Well no, that’s a lie. I was breathing but watching very closely. Watching the minute movements, the dynamics between the four actors that would shift an inch and then swing a mile. It’s a wonderful story… well, no, I should say tragic and strangely heart-warming. A depiction of the way fear can pull people to shreds.
Ray has been screwed up since Afghanistan but decides to get his ex-wife back. Over an hour in a suburban pub the four actors create a human spectacle in which you’ll see yourself and everyone you know. The writing is unassuming but fearless, the acting superb and the spell woven subtly, only broken by the applause when you realise – that was really bloody good.
Glory Dazed is a very intriguing show. Like many others in its genre, it could have easily turned into a screaming mess with more drama than one can fit in a season of The Bold and The Beautiful, but luckily for all of us, it didn’t. Set in an English pub, written by Cat Jones, directed by Elle While and based on interviews with ex-servicemen in prisons, it’s a dark and troubling look at the effect of war on the people who get caught up in it.
Samuel Edward-Cook stars as Ray, the troubled ex-serviceman who returned a very disturbed man after his time in Afghanistan, but he’s trying to win his ex-wife back. Chloe Massey as Carla (Ray’s ex-wife), Adam Foster as Simon (the owner of the pub and Carla’s new lover) and Kristin Atherton as Leanne (the young barmaid), provide excellent support to the script, which is well crafted and utterly engaging.
There’s never a dull moment and if you’re looking for a piece of theatre that will really challenge you and make you question your opinions on war, then you’ve found it.
