THE Two Worlds of Charlie F., written by Owen Sheers is based on an idea from producer Alice Driver, and takes an unflinching look at how injuries sustained in war impact on soldiers' lives.

Alice has no military background, and it was, indirectly, though her fiancé that Charlie F, which won the om of Expression 2012 came into being. "Some of his friends at Birmingham University are medics, one of them a surgeon at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I'd been working at Haymarket, using theatre with non-professionals to give them a voice, and when he said he was working on military wards in Birmingham and told me about the soldiers, and I immediately wondered if there was something we could do. Then I met some of them, and one summed it up: "When you become wounded, you become incredibly vulnerable, you lose yourself, your identity and fundamentally, you lose your voice."

He went on to say that they felt the wounded, sick and injured (WIS) personnel got forgotten about, and I knew instantly what we were going to do. I didn't realise that, until then, the MOD had only used sports and adventure training as official recovery projects. Theatre had not been used before."

What Alice and Bravo22 Company (the name of the theatre company created for the project) have done is bring the experiences of around 30 WIS from the UK together in a play based on those experiences.

"It's all about giving them a voice, creating a new military family, a new company," says Alice. "It's about taking them from a dark, isolated place to one full of hope. The focus is on what they can do, not on what they can't." One former cast member who has given his blessing for someone else to tell his story for the current tour, was told he'd never walk again, but is now a professional rock climber.

Maurellia Simpson is another member of the cast who has found involvement with the project life-changing following the injury that ended her career, having met Alice at Tedworth House Recovery Centre, .

“It was the end of my dream” says Maurellia. “A dream I’d had since I was seven. Growing up in Trinidad I knew I wanted to be a soldier and live where the Queen lived.

I thought I had lost everything , felt I’d been a failure. I was unsure about my future, and when Alice came to Tedworth House with Ray Winstone, one of the project's many high profile supporters, promoting this idea and asking if there were any soldiers who wanted to be involved – in any capacity –you can do anything she said, lighting, design, performing. I just wanted to be part of it.

"It’s given me an adopted family - I have brothers, and not just brothers in arms. I have friends made in a different sort of battle. We’re all dealing with our injuries, our bad days, good days and not-so-good days. It’s given me a sense of belonging to a team again, something I thought I’d lost when I lost my dream. I’m not saying that emotionally I’m there yet, but day by day we are continuing to do it."

When she first came up with the idea for Charlie F. Alice approached Trevor Nunn, artistic director at Haymarket, who said he'd help and oversee the project, and brought in director Stephen Rayne. "The best bit of advice he gave me," says Alice, " was 'no egos - it has to about these guys and their stories'. And it was for his lack of ego or agenda that Owen Sheers came on board. "He'd just done The Passion in Port Talbot and we knew he was the perfect person to do this. He was so enthusiastic and also wanted to listen - he spoke to dozens of people, including service personnel, their families and psychiatrists. What he's shaped out of those stories is fantastic."

“I am so proud and overwhelmed. It is the most moving play I’ve seen for a long, long time. The public should get behind this and be part of something unforgettable.”

Ray Winstone, project ambassador.

The Two Worlds of Charlie F is at Malvern Theatres from Monday, March 31 to Saturday, April 5. To book, call the box office on 01684 892277 or visit malvern-theatres.co.uk