A musical drama based on the life of the First World War poet, Wilfred Owen, is to be performed in Edinburgh, at the scene of his inspirational meeting with fellow war poet Siegfried Sassoon.
Bullets and Daffodils can be seen on August 1st 2014 at the former Craiglockhart Hospital in the Scottish capital (now part of Edinburgh Napier University).
Sassoon encouraged Owen’s poetry after the pair met at Craiglockhart in the summer of 1917 while they were being treated for shellshock.
Two of Wilfred Owen’s best known works, Anthem for Doomed Youth and Dulce et decorum est, were among those which followed that autumn,
Bullets and Daffodils has been created by musician Dean Johnson, founder of the ‘Wilfred Owen Story and Gallery,’ a permanent exhibition dedicated to the poet in Birkenhead, the town in northwest England where he spent much of his childhood.
The work is based on Owen’s poetry, set to music and additional words by Johnson. It was performed in London’s West End in 2012.
Siegfried Sassoon was sent to Craiglockhart Hospital after writing a declaration protesting against the war. Like Wilfred Owen he returned to active service, but survived the conflict. Owen was killed in action in France one week before the Armistice in November 1918.
Bullets and Daffodils will be performed at 7.30pm on August 1st 2014 at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart Campus. Admission is free. Further details can be found here.
Information and images supplied by Dean Johnson and The Wilfred Owen Story; Edinburgh Napier University
Posted by: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News