Nothing can mitigate the horror of war but rare human spirits burn more brightly amidst the carnage. Art and passion can be forged from hardship and suffering, as in Stephen MacDonald’s play about the loving friendship between First World War poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfrid Owen.

Shellshocked, they meet by chance while recovering in hospital: Owen is initially daunted by the fame of the senior man but wins heart from Sassoon’s encouragement of his poetry. Through letters and poems, and one unspeakably awkward hug, they express the emotion of the war and their developing intimacy, at times too painfully intense for more normal words.

But if poetry spins from the furnace of conflict, brilliant acting and stage craft is the result of an astonishing play and two inspiring performances from Colin Elmer as Sassoon and the Wilfred Owen of David Eaton.

Elmer perfectly captures the etiolated anxiety of an intellectual at odds with authority. His lanky frame exudes an educated angst which explodes inconveniently and not always on paper.

David Eaton has a longer journey to make, from unconfident countryman to damaged soldier and published artist. He becomes them all, with consummate skill.

A tour de force – and a triumph.