Not About Heroes
Encyclopedia
Not About Heroes is a drama
by Stephen MacDonald
about the real-life relationship between the poet
s Wilfred Owen
and Siegfried Sassoon
first performed at the Edinburgh Festival
in 1982.
The play has only two characters: Owen and Sassoon. The story of their friendship is told in a series of flashbacks, narrated by Sassoon who survived World War I
(in which Owen was killed). Most of the scenes take place during their time as fellow-patients at Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh
in 1917.
The title is a quotation from the preface Wilfred Owen wrote in preparation for the publication of his collected poems:
in 1982 and won a Fringe First award. Directed by Eric Standidge, Sassoon was played by the author and Owen by David Learner
. It toured and came to the King's Head, was adapted for Yorkshire TV and BBC Radio 4
, and was published by Faber and Faber
, all in 1983. A new production at the Royal National Theatre
in 1986 celebrated the centenary of Sassoon's birth. A national tour took place the following year with Paul Shelley
as Siegfried Sassoon and Stephen McGann
as Wilfred Owen. In 1992, the author directed a revised text for the Citizen's, Glasgow
- a production which afterwards was seen in Shrewsbury
as part of the celebrations marking the centenary of Owen's birth.
A production by Dianne Wiest
at the Williamstown Theatre Fesival transferred to New York City
in 1985. Edward Herrmann and Dylan Baker both won OBIE awards. The 1987 Stratford Ontario production, with Nicholas Pennell and Henry Czerny, was revived the following year. Not About Heroes was also performed in the early 1990s at The Round House Theatre in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC.
Stephen McGann
played Owen in a production at the Oxford Playhouse in 1987, opposite Paul Shelley
as Sassoon. Jonas Armstrong
played Owen in a 2000 production at the Edinburgh Fringe.
In October/November 2008, Rowan Tree Theatre Co. in the Scottish Borders
, mounted a production of the play to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of the Great War
and in celebration of the company's twenty first birthday. One performance was given in Craiglockhart Hospital, the site of the actual meeting of the two poets. Sassoon was played by Oliver Bisset, and Owen by Matthew Burgess. The play was directed by John Haswell and produced by Judy Steel, wife of Lord Steel
, the Liberal
politician.
Notable productions of Not About Heroes in recent years have included a version mounted for the 2002 Hay-on-Wye
literary festival, starring Roger Moss and Owen Sheers
. It was directed by Cathy Gill and produced by the novelist, Louis de Bernières
. The following year, Peter Dickson and Andrew Butterworth starred in a production at the Crescent Theatre
, Birmingham
. In 2005 MADHouse Productions staged their version in the intimate surroundings of the Barons Court Theatre
in west London. RGP Productions produced the play in Sydney
, followed by a season at the Australian War Memorial
in Canberra
in 2007, starring Roger Gimblett as Sassoon and Patrick Magee
as Owen, with direction by Carla Moore. The play was again broadcast on BBC Radio 7 in November 2007 and November 2008.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
by Stephen MacDonald
Stephen MacDonald
Stephen MacDonald was a British actor, director and dramatist.MacDonald was brought up and educated in Birmingham, where he trained as an actor, but subsequently worked extensively in Scotland as a theatre director....
about the real-life relationship between the poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
s Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War...
and Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...
first performed at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
in 1982.
The play has only two characters: Owen and Sassoon. The story of their friendship is told in a series of flashbacks, narrated by Sassoon who survived World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(in which Owen was killed). Most of the scenes take place during their time as fellow-patients at Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in 1917.
The title is a quotation from the preface Wilfred Owen wrote in preparation for the publication of his collected poems:
- "This book is not about heroes. English poetry is not yet fit to speak of them. Nor is it about deeds, or lands, nor anything about glory, honour, might, majesty, dominion, or power, except War. Above all I am not concerned with Poetry. My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity."
Synopsis
The action is replayed through the eyes of an older Siegfried Sassoon, as he recalls his relationship with Wilfred Owen, beginning some fourteen years earlier. Owen introduces himself hesitantly to Sassoon when the latter arrives at Craiglockhart in 1917, having been diagnosed as suffering from "war neurosis" as a result of his protest against the war. The course of their friendship is shown through extracts from the real diaries and letters of the two men, right up to their last meeting at the Chelsea Physic Garden, when Sassoon was recovering from a head wound that would end his military career while Owen waited to return to the Western Front, where he would be killed shortly afterwards.Past productions
Not About Heroes had its première at the Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
in 1982 and won a Fringe First award. Directed by Eric Standidge, Sassoon was played by the author and Owen by David Learner
David Learner
David Learner is a British actor who is most famous for his portrayal of Marvin the Paranoid Android in the TV show and stage adaption of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and his performance as Pickle in the popular CITV Adventure Gameshow Knightmare....
. It toured and came to the King's Head, was adapted for Yorkshire TV and BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, and was published by Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
, all in 1983. A new production at the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in 1986 celebrated the centenary of Sassoon's birth. A national tour took place the following year with Paul Shelley
Paul Shelley
Paul Shelley is an English actor.Shelley trained at RADA and has mainly worked in the theatre as a classical actor...
as Siegfried Sassoon and Stephen McGann
Stephen McGann
Stephen McGann is an English actor - one of a family of acting brothers including Joe, Paul and Mark. He began his professional career in 1982, starring in the West End musical Yakety Yak. He has since worked extensively in British theatre and on screen.In 1989 he starred as Mickey in the West End...
as Wilfred Owen. In 1992, the author directed a revised text for the Citizen's, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
- a production which afterwards was seen in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
as part of the celebrations marking the centenary of Owen's birth.
A production by Dianne Wiest
Dianne Wiest
Dianne Wiest is an American actress. She has had a successful career on stage, television, and film, and has won two Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Wiest has also been nominated for a BAFTA Award.-Early life:...
at the Williamstown Theatre Fesival transferred to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1985. Edward Herrmann and Dylan Baker both won OBIE awards. The 1987 Stratford Ontario production, with Nicholas Pennell and Henry Czerny, was revived the following year. Not About Heroes was also performed in the early 1990s at The Round House Theatre in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC.
Stephen McGann
Stephen McGann
Stephen McGann is an English actor - one of a family of acting brothers including Joe, Paul and Mark. He began his professional career in 1982, starring in the West End musical Yakety Yak. He has since worked extensively in British theatre and on screen.In 1989 he starred as Mickey in the West End...
played Owen in a production at the Oxford Playhouse in 1987, opposite Paul Shelley
Paul Shelley
Paul Shelley is an English actor.Shelley trained at RADA and has mainly worked in the theatre as a classical actor...
as Sassoon. Jonas Armstrong
Jonas Armstrong
Jonas Armstrong is an Irish-actor, raised in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, best known for his appearances on television in the United Kingdom, where he played the title role in the BBC One drama series Robin Hood.-Career:...
played Owen in a 2000 production at the Edinburgh Fringe.
In October/November 2008, Rowan Tree Theatre Co. in the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
, mounted a production of the play to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of the Great War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and in celebration of the company's twenty first birthday. One performance was given in Craiglockhart Hospital, the site of the actual meeting of the two poets. Sassoon was played by Oliver Bisset, and Owen by Matthew Burgess. The play was directed by John Haswell and produced by Judy Steel, wife of Lord Steel
David Steel
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1976 until its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats...
, the Liberal
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
politician.
Notable productions of Not About Heroes in recent years have included a version mounted for the 2002 Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye , often described as "the town of books", is a small market town and community in Powys, Wales.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the River Wye and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains...
literary festival, starring Roger Moss and Owen Sheers
Owen Sheers
Owen Sheers is a Welsh poet, author, playwright, actor and TV presenter.-Biography:Owen Sheers was born in Suva, Fiji in 1974 and brought up in Abergavenny, South Wales...
. It was directed by Cathy Gill and produced by the novelist, Louis de Bernières
Louis de Bernières
Louis de Bernières is a British novelist most famous for his fourth novel, Captain Corelli's Mandolin. In 1993 de Bernières was selected as one of the "20 Best of Young British Novelists", part of a promotion in Granta magazine...
. The following year, Peter Dickson and Andrew Butterworth starred in a production at the Crescent Theatre
Crescent Theatre
The Crescent Theatre is a small, amateur theatre run mostly by volunteers, based in Sheepcote Street, Brindleyplace in Birmingham, England.It houses one of the oldest theatre companies in the city: The Crescent Theatre Company. The Crescent also plays host to numerous visiting companies every year,...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. In 2005 MADHouse Productions staged their version in the intimate surroundings of the Barons Court Theatre
Barons Court Theatre
Barons Court Theatre is a small theatre of only 57 cinema style seats located in the basement of The Curtains Up public house in Comeragh Road in West London...
in west London. RGP Productions produced the play in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, followed by a season at the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
in 2007, starring Roger Gimblett as Sassoon and Patrick Magee
Patrick Magee (actor)
Patrick Magee was a Northern Irish actor best known for his collaborations with Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, as well as his appearances in horror films and in Stanley Kubrick's films A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon.-Early life:He was born Patrick McGee in Armagh, County Armagh, Northern...
as Owen, with direction by Carla Moore. The play was again broadcast on BBC Radio 7 in November 2007 and November 2008.