MARKING the centenary of the beginning of the First World War is a major revival of Stephen MacDonald’s play about poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen.

Stephen’s production, Not About Heroes, chronicles the unique and deepening friendship that developed between Sassoon and Owen, from their first meeting in 1917 at the Craiglockhart War hospital where both were being treated for war neurosis to their final meeting in August 1918, shortly before Owen’s return to active duty.

Seen through the eyes of the older Sassoon – who is remembering events from 14 years previously – the play interweaves extracts from their real diaries, letters and poems and suggests that their intense friendship was key to unlocking Owen’s genius as a poet and liberating him as a man.

The playwright wanted to understand how this relationship could leave such an indelible mark on the literature of their war and so on our understanding of war itself and hoped the play might refresh the memory of who these men were and what it was they had to tell us.

One hundred years on from the beginning of the First World War, Not About Heroes is both exhilarating and uncompromising in its exploration of love, war and a friendship that changed the face of British poetry.

Eliot Giuralarocca directs James Howard, whose credits include the Donmar Warehouse and Royal Shakespeare Company, and Ben Ashton, who has recently worked with the Watermill in Newbury as well as the Royal Shakespeare Company, in a production that features music composed by Tom Neill, set design by Victoria Spearing, costumes by Jenny Little and lighting by Charlotte McClelland.

Eliot said: “The friendship between Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon was forged 100 years ago, in the unique circumstances of the First World War and left us poetry that still burns brightly today.

“I hope my production of Not About Heroes will give the audience a visceral and sensual theatrical experience that brings their moving story to life.”

The play will be performed at Pocklington Arts Centre on Tuesday, November 4, at 7.30pm, as part of a national tour.

Janet Farmer, manager of Pocklington Arts Centre, said: “I am pleased to present this moving and timely play by the acclaimed playwright Stephen MacDonald.

“At a time when we are all contemplating the horrors and experiences of war, this is an extraordinary story of friendship between two of our greatest war poets.

“This is the first visit to Pocklington by Blackeyed Theatre and I hope they will continue to visit us with their innovative productions.”

For tickets, phone 01759 301547 or visit pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk