Customer Reviews
a dauntless document of love and war - By: E. J. Priscott, 20 Jul 2004 
This play presents the tale of two men who are both, in their different ways, broken by their experiences of war, & the effecst that this has on their art. Owen & Sassoon, especiallly the former, have become symbols of the doomed youth of the Great War, & it is to them that we turn in order to discover the true realities of war today. We can no longer listen seriously to the solemn, romantic young heroism of the likes of Rupert Brooke, as we know that his perspective was the product of an inexperienced mind, blissfully unaware of the nightmare into which he was being sent when he died (of septicemia in 1915).
By exploring the effects of modern warfare on the psyche of two individuals, this play gives us insight into the nature of war & the trauma it brings, & makes us wonder just how much the world could benefit from listening properly to these historic nay-sayers.
The relationship between Siegfried Sassoon & Wilfred Owen comprises the heart of the play, & remains mysterious & ambiguous; it is given interesting exploration by MacDonald. The relationship certainly had a profound effect on the young, nervous Owen, whose poetry developed wonderfully under Sassoons' watchful(and sometimes critical)eye. The tale of these two poets is therefore important in giving us insight into the shaping of some of the great war poems of our times, & why they were written: to show the pity of war in Owens case, & something like the horrific lunacy in Sassoons, as far as possible.
This play is sometimes amusing, sometimes moving, tragic & always memorable. The characters are well portrayed, their own mannerisms & personality traits well illustrated through dialogue & stage directions, as well as frequent extracts of Sassoon & Owens' poetry, which complements the dialogue & character interaction.
This play gives us a picture of how deep friendships can be formed in awful circumstances, & the necessity for love & and humanity to endure through the darkness & find immortality.
Perfect radio/tv/theatre drama - By: , 02 Feb 2004 Not About Heroes must be one of the most underrated & underused First World War plays ever (probably) It tells of the coincidental meeting between two poets, one already established as such (Siegfried Sassoon) & one desperately wanting to be (Wilfred Owen)and if you, like me, have never experienced a war this play will silence you voluntarily on Remembrance Day.
A deeply moving play - By: paulburton@totalise.co.uk, 12 Dec 2001 
This play tells the story of two of the great poets of the first world war. Siefreid Sassoon & Wilfred Owen meet while recovering at the Craiglockhart military hospital for mental trauma (shell shocked officers). The story is told partly in 'flashback' as Sassoon refllects on their friendship. Owen begins as a fan of Sassoon's poetry & they graduallly build up their friendship polishing Owen's work for publication. The play contains some beautiful language, not just the poetry, & illustrates the pointless nature of war & the way in which it destroys anything of Beauty..
