Not About Heroes

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Event Not About Heroes
Venue St Martins Youth Arts Centre, South Yarra, VIC
First Date 24 August 1984
Opening Date 24 August 1984
Last Date 22 September 1984
Dates Estimated No
Status Professional
World Premiere No
Part of a Tour Yes
Description From the press release:

"Not About Heroes is a hauntingly beautiful play about the brief but deep friendship between two of the World War 1 poets, Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. They meet at Craiglockhart War Hospital for Nervous Disorders, Owen suffering from neurasthenia and Sassoon from 'insanity' having publicly denounced the war. Drawn together by their poetry, we witness the deepening love between these two complex men, and the gradual maturing of Owen's poetry as the friendship grows.

"The force of this play owes much to its factual accuracy. Using their letters, memoirs and poems, the play explores, simply and movingly, the nature of love and compassion at a time of hatred, futility and death. But overwhelming all is the poetry. And the power of poetry...In Owen's immortal words:

"'This book is not about heroes. My subject is war, and the pity of war. The poetry is in the pity.'"
Description Source Other
Primary Genre Theatre - Spoken Word
Secondary Genre Biographical
Subjects Relationships
War
Organisations
Contributors
Name Function Notes
Carrillo Gantner Actor Siegfried Sassoon
Alan Knoepfler Actor Wilfred Owen
Anna French Designer
Louis Nowra Director
Robert Gebert Lighting Designer
Stephen MacDonald Playwright
Resources
Works
Text Nationality England
Production Nationality Australia
Event Status Completed
Data Source
Source Description
Newspaper
Data Set AusStage
Event Identifier 115220