Where Then Shall We Start?

At the heart of this play are two creative spirits endowed with that particular sensitivity granted to artists, who are sucked into the horror of war. A son, and a mother, both of whom hold the beauty of life at their fingertips, and whose experiences call them to become warriors against the senselessness of war. The first of these is Wilfred Owen, young English son and poet who volunteered for his country in the First World War, and who lost his life, fighting amongst the villages of France. The second is Käthe Kollwitz, German mother and artist, whose young son, Peter, volunteered and lost his life, fighting amongst the villages of France. Their mission is to hold alive the concepts of beauty and love so violated by the heinous slaughter of 16,000,000 men.

As the language of Honour, and Homeland, and the Just Cause, was silenced in the stripped down reality of war, both artists wove their gifts of creativity into stark and haunting truths about killing and loss. The final act of the play takes war into the surreal – yet real – realm of story, that powerful land where universal truths can be magically explored, for all people, and for all time. Where then shall it end? The resolution of the story offers a challenging alternative to the endless cycle of war.

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The play was premiered in 2014 at The Queen's House, Greenwich, 100 years after the start of WWI. With Spark Productions and a commissioned score by Stephen Daltry