That meant the work could not simply take a generic domestic abuse intervention and place it in a military setting.

A significant period of research and development was needed to understand the context properly: the experiences of serving personnel, the pressures faced by partners and families, the language of military life, and the ways in which coercive or controlling behaviour might present within that environment.

Story became a way of making those complexities visible without reducing them to a list of warning signs.

Through performance, audiences are able to observe a relationship developing over time, notice changes in behaviour, recognise patterns of control and consider the experience from more than one perspective. The fictional frame creates enough distance for people to engage with an uncomfortable subject, while still allowing the emotional reality of it to be felt.

The discussion that follows is as important as the performance itself. Supported by Army Welfare, the sessions create space for personnel and family members to reflect on what they have seen, explore the behaviours and pressures represented in the story, and connect those observations to the support available to them.

The project has now been recommissioned by the Army several times since its original run. I continue to work with them to develop and deliver it to personnel and families across the UK.

That longevity matters. It demonstrates that this is not simply a one-off awareness intervention, but an approach that has continued to prove useful within a complex and highly specific culture.

At the heart of the project is a question that runs through much of my work: how do you create enough safety for people to explore something that may be difficult to talk about directly?

Sometimes story provides that space.

It allows vulnerability to be examined without demanding disclosure, and creates a shared experience through which difficult conversations can begin.