RSC's THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE to Feature Wilfred Owen Violin on Christmas Eve

A violin that has been made to commemorate 100 years since the start of the First World War, named The Wilfred Owen Violin, will be used during a special Christmas Eve performance of Phil Porter's new play, The Christmas Truce at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. The play is inspired by real events of the First World War and the performance on Christmas Eve will mark exactly 100 years since soldiers along the Western Front left their trenches to meet their enemies in No Man's Land to talk, exchange gifts and play football. The violin will also be used during the RSC's annual Christmas Carol concert held in Holy Trinity Church on Monday 22 December.

The violin is made from wood taken from the branch of a sycamore tree that is within the grounds of Craiglockhart, a hospital in Edinburgh. The hospital was an important military psychiatric hospital during the War for the treatment of shell-shocked officers. One of their most well-known patients was the war poet Wilfred Owen, after whom the violin is named.

The violin has been made by Steve Burnett, an Edinburgh instrument maker. He said: 'For some time I have had in mind to make a violin/fiddle to honour the memory of Wilfred Owen and his generation. Now is the most fitting time to realise this idea, with the centenary of the beginning of the Great War.

'Both Owen and Sassoon convalesced at Craiglockhart when it was a military hospital, so the first choice of wood for this violin naturally is from one of the trees standing within the grounds. The wood has been taken under professional supervision in a standard pruning operation with no long term harm to the tree's welfare.'

Bruce O'Neil, RSC Head of Music said: 'The Wilfred Owen Violin is not only a fine musical instrument in itself, but a powerful symbol of regeneration and, literally, an instrument of peace. Featuring the violin in our Christmas Eve performance of Christmas Truce will contribute to what I am sure will be a highly charged and emotional event, in ways both tangible and impalpable.'

The Christmas Truce draws on the story of Warwickshire Regiment Soldier and local cartoonist, Capt. Bruce Bairnsfather, who worked at the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre as an electrical engineer. Bruce Bairnsfather is played by Joseph Kloska. Bairnsfather's most famous cartoon character Old Bill is brought to life in the play and is played by Gerard Horan. The Christmas Truce music is composed by Sam Kenyon and designed by Tom Piper, who collaborated with ceramic artist Paul Cummins on the current Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation at the Tower of London.

The Wilfred Owen Violin project aims to engage with young people through music and to act as a reminder of the horrors of War and of the importance of reconciliation and understanding across all nationalities and faiths. An annual 'Violin Champion' will be chosen from students within the Edinburgh Napier University music department during the next four commemorative years and the violin will be made available on loan to others musicians for concert and educational work.

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