From war to worse? Play examines life after armed forces

Feb 27 2013 by Our Correspondent, Birkenhead News

ALTHOUGH there are no reliable statistics it is generally agreed that a disproportionate number of recruits to the armed forces are from broken homes or dysfunctional families.

A new play coming to Fort Perch Rock in New Brighton examines the experiences of such recruits in a hard-hitting two-hander written by David Pattison.

An Unquiet Mind builds on estimates which suggest that up to 25% of rough sleepers are ex-service personnel.

It is a short step from that to acknowledge that some lives are blighted from birth. Unfortunately, people leading such lives are forced to exist outside of society because they struggle to conform.

Featuring two very fine actors in Paul Codman (Topshop), who also directs and Michael Chapman (Legion) and looking at the predicament of one poor unfortunate, An Unquiet Mind is wide ranging in its referencing of a number of potent issues.

Among them, parental and institutional abuse – both physical and psychological: exploitation of the disadvantaged; homelessness and rootlessness; public apathy towards the treatment of the mentally ill, the often uncaring treatment of ex-service personnel and the right of the individual to decide to live or die.

The atmospheric surroundings of Fort Perch Rock provides a backdrop to the production on the weekend of March 8 and 9 at 7.30pm. It is an unusual stop on the North West tour which begins in Salford on March 4.

Tickets cost £5 and are available on the night at the door.