Last Updated on 16 June 2021 by Showcall Editorial Team
Stephen MacDonald’s play, Not About Heroes, from Blackeyed Theatre will be available to watch for free online to mark Armed Forces Day
Blackeyed Theatre is to stream its production of Not About Heroes telling the story of the friendship between World War One poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen.
Filmed in 2014, the drama will be available to watch for free for just 24 hours from 8pm on Friday 25 June via YouTube – coinciding with Armed Forces Day on 26 June.
The archive recording, which has never previously been released, will also be available to schools for free from 25 June to 2 July.
Stephen MacDonald’s beautifully written play chronicles the friendship that developed between Sassoon and Owen from their first meeting in 1917 at 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.
Sassoon is played by James Howard who has taken over the role of Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at London’s Palace Theatre. Owen is played by Ben Ashton who was most recently seen on stage in the lead role of Stockmann in Flintlock Theatre’s touring production of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People.
It is directed by Eliot Giuralarocca with original music composed by Tom Neill. Design is by Victoria Spearing, lighting design by Charlotte McClelland, costume design by Jenny Little and projection design by Clive Elkington.
This production of Not About Heroes toured the UK in 2014 including performances at London’s former Trafalgar Studios
Adrian McDougall, artistic director of Blackeyed Theatre, said: “Looking back on our 16 years of touring, Not About Heroes remains one of my highlights, a production that took a wonderful script and created a unique, visually-stunning and beautifully performed piece of theatre. It’s a performance that deserves to be seen and, as we emerge from the pandemic, a piece that will I’m sure chime with audiences.”
Audiences can watch Not About Heroes free via Blackeyed Theatre’s YouTube channel at youtu.be/p6HHW9Vebew. There is also an online programme available at issuu.com/blackeyedtheatre/docs/page1.
Schools wishing to access the play should email info@blackeyedtheatre.co.uk to request log-in details. Blackeyed Theatre can also provide an education pack.
