Details

A young Apollo, golden haired stands dreaming on The Verge of Strife... "If I should die, think only this of me..." Brooke entered the canon on his death in 1915, feted as 'the voice of England'. Brooke's patriotic sonnets had caught the imagination of a people in the early days of the war, and he got his wish. Brooke remains in our thoughts as the voice of early-war naivety, before the terrible suffering of the soldiers - so forcibly expressed by Sassoon and Owen - became the reality of war poetry. Living the counter-culture of the Edwardian summer, the young poet played the many parts required of him, exploiting yet despairing at his ability to leave a trail of bruised egos and broken hearts through the upper echelons of society. Far from being simplistic and naive, his poetry depicts the struggle to find a voice capable of expressing all he experienced. A struggle shared by all young contemporary artists caught amongst the conflicts of human nature; a struggle elevated in his case by the terrible tragedy of the Great War. This poetic, spirited and dynamic production puts Rupert Brooke centre stage for the first time.

Creatives/Company

Author: Nick Baldock (based on the letters and poetry of Rupert Brooke)