Post-traumatic stress disorder - an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events.

They say pictures can paint a thousand words, yet the pictures we were presented in the theatre foyer at Chapter Arts Centre didn't speak words, they spoke pain, anguish, fear and resentment.

Abandoned Brothers is not particularly a piece of theatre, the cast are not professional actors, nor can it really be commended as a performance, but I do not mean to discredit it with that statement. When asked by family what I thought of the performance, I replied that it wasn't one, it was a process. Whilst featuring beautiful moments of hilarity and the irony of everyday life, there was a significant underlying feeling of bitter resentment over a country that had failed its heroes and their often forgotten families.

What made the performance more powerful was the realisation that these were real stories, the true events that they should not ever have experienced, let alone relive every day of their lives. The fact that sometimes the cast tripped over their words, or lost their place only strengthened the piece. These people are not actors. These people have suffered - still suffer - and we as a country should never forget that.

Re-live have done a fantastic thing not only to the veterans who now have a voice and new found friendships, but to the current soldiers serving abroad. Best put by the cast themselves, Britain is heading for a tsunami of PTSD sufferers that eventually we as a country will not be able to help due to the sheer amount, and something must be done to help those who fight for out rights.

With revelations such as how long it takes to become diagnosed, how little help these veterans received after their exit and the horrific tales of night-terrors and their consequences, Abandoned Brothers presents itself as a mirror of our own society, bleak, helpless, and failing those who are forever loyal.

I genuinely believe that Re-live will continue to strengthen and grow amongst Cardiff's thriving theatre grounding if they continue to produce work this emotionally charged.
The directors of the company, Karin Diamond and Alison O'Connor, should be proud of what they have done with their concept as should the cast.

The government however, should be ashamed.

TICKETS AVAILABLE ON THE CHAPTER ARTS CENTRE WEBSITE.