GLORY DAZED Wins 2013 Adelaide Fringe Week 1 Award for Best Theatrical Production

Glory Dazed - a darkly comic and acerbic look at the impact of war upon returning soldiers, has collected the Adelaide Fringe Week 1 Award for Best Theatrical Production.

Winner of the Holden Street Theatres' Edinburgh Award for 2012 and the BBC Alfred Bradley Award Glory Dazed was developed with ex-servicemen prisoners at HMP & YOI Doncaster. The play comes to Adelaide following an Old Vic New Voices Edinburgh Season and was rated 20th of 2,700 shows at the Edinburgh Fringe according to The List's Top Rated List.

Glory Dazed plays at The Studio, Holden Street Theatres, 34 Holden Street Hindmarsh from 12 February (previewing 12,13,14 Feb) through until 17 March. Check Fringe Guide and online for performance times. Duration 60 mins. Tickets are $16.50 (Preview) 18.60 concession to $26.90 Adults and through Venuetix, FringeTIX or may be purchased at the door. For tickets, go to www.adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix or www.venuetix.com.

Produced by Second Shot Productions, a social enterprise creating arts opportunities for serving prisoners and ex-offenders Glory Dazed is a response to the over representation of ex-servicemen in the UK prison population. The figure is fiercely disputed but is estimated to be somewhere between 3 and 10%.

Written by Cat Jones and directed by Elle While Glory Dazed is a four hander featuring Samuel Edward-Cook as Ray; Chloe Massey as Carla; Adam Foster as Simon and Katie West as Leanne. Ray's been screwed up since Afghanistan but tonight, in a suburban pub, he's going to win his ex-wife back. Holden Street Director Martha Lott said, 'The actors are sublime in their portrayal of this amazing bit of writing. The direction is tight and the attention to detail phenomenal. It is a perfect night of theatre; insightful, engaging, sharply humorous in parts and never dull. It represents exactly what the Holden Street Theatres Edinburgh Award is all about'.

Founded by Cat Jones, Second Shot Productions is a social enterprise based within the walls of HMP & YOI Doncaster. The company employs a combination of serving prisoners, ex-offenders and other highly trained staff to deliver a range of commercial services from filmmaking and graphic design through to drama and arts projects in custodial and non custodial settings.

All of Second Shot's profit is invested back into their projects. The company is committed to providing education, training and employment to serving prisoners and ex-offenders and using the arts to facilitate positive change. In addition Second Shot offers tailored performance projects that explore the causes of offending behaviour and focus on the impact of crime within society.

The process of creating Glory Dazed began with a number of discussion groups involving ex-servicemen serving prison sentences at HMP & YOI Doncaster. The men discussed their experiences of both being in the armed forces and their return to civilian life. To varying degrees they revealed difficulties with alcohol, aggression and multiculturalism and deterioration in their relationship with their families. Following these discussions the writer developed a story and the opening section of the play. This was taken back to the ex-servicemen, this time through a number of drama workshops run by the play's director, in which they were asked to improvise alongside professional actors, to further develop the characters and the story. The writer took away these ideas and insights and a first complete draft of the play was written.

For more information, visit www.holdenstreettheatres.com or www.secondshot.org.uk.

Photo by Alex Brenner.

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