My friend, you would not tell with such high jest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old lie: Dulce et decorum est

Pro patria mori.

For one night only, on Wednesday 16 March,  ‘A Soldier’s Dream’, written and directed by fifth former Jess V, was performed in the Christopher Lee Theatre. 

We caught up with Jess to get an insight into the play and her experience. 

What the play is about? 

It’s based around the famous anti-war poet Wilfred Owen set between 1917 and 1918. There is a conflicting relationship between him and Jesse Pope, who was a female pro-war poet.

Historians believe that ‘my friend’ in Dulce Et Decorum Est was based on Jesse Pope. I thought the clash between them was so interesting, dynamic, but brilliant. I don’t want to give too much away but it’s all based on real events and is a tribute to him.  

It’s been so moving to research Wilfred Owen for this play. I’m really looking forward to sharing and celebrating his life with the audience.

How have your teachers helped make this play possible? 

The teachers have been so helpful all the way through the process. My English teacher, Mr Bilclough initially inspired it. Whilst studying ‘Disabled’ for our coursework, he recited Jesse Pope’s poem, ‘Who’s for the Game’ and then talked about their relationship. It really stuck with me. Eloise who plays Jesse Pope recites ‘Who’s for the Game’ in the play.

I sent the play to my old drama teacher, Mr Russell after writing it in lockdown. As he was leaving he talked with Miss Brayton and Mr Mancuso to make sure it was pushed on.

Mr Mancuso took over the operation and has been amazing. There are so many things like the set that you don’t think about having never done this before. He has helped me at every step but given me full freedom. I’ve been allowed to choose everything from the staging I want, to the lighting, to the props, to designing the posters and programmes, I’ve learnt so much from him.

What have you enjoyed most about this experience and why?

I’ve really liked the directing; I loved writing it, but that’s obviously a slow process and I had to be quite disciplined at times. But the directing has all been really fun and really engaging, and I loved being able to bring it to life. It’s been the most amazing opportunity. Not many schools would let you do all of this.

Who are your favourite playwrights? 

We studied ‘An Inspector Calls’ in English which I really enjoyed. That’s actually what inspired the idea for my next play. This experience has definitely got me more intrigued.

What are your hopes for the future?

I’m going to keep writing. I’ve got more or less the foundation of the next thing I’m going to write. It’s going to be with a smaller cast and my goal is to take it to the Edinburgh Fringe. I think a murder mystery, I want to try some slightly longer, more drawn out scenes and I’ve got some characters in mind. 

View production photography HERE.