(5 / 5)
Were it not for my military obsessed 12 year old son, I doubt I would ever have considered going to see War Horse, but as soon as I saw it was coming to the Wales Millennium Centre I knew I had to take him and I am so glad I did!
I think initially my son was a bit disappointed with the minimal set on the stage – it looks nothing when you arrive and take your seats, but within minutes of the production starting you are transported into a different time and what follows can only be described as epic!
As we were waiting for the performance to begin, I read the opening few paragraphs of Sarah Hemming’s article ‘A Crazy Experiment’ in the official programme, and it has really made me reflect upon what we’ve seen. National Theatre director Marianne Elliott confessed that when she first encountered the idea of a stage version of Michael Morpurgo’s classic tale, she thought it was ‘completely mad’ and she’s right! How on earth do you have a horse as a main character on stage, convey the bond built-up between boy and horse over time and represent the horrors of the first world war in just a couple of hours of theatre? THIS is how you do it!
From the second the foal Joey bounds on to the stage, the audience is totally enchanted. There is no attempt to make the overall appearance of the puppets realistic but they are completely convincing. From every subtle twitch of the ears to the flick of the tails, I was in awe of the puppeteers and all I can think is that they must have spent hours sitting in stables, fields and watching video footage of horses, to be able to recreate such life-like behaviour through these incredible creations. The opening scenes between Tom Sturgess (Albert Narracott) and Joey (as both foal and then horse) are touching and utterly spellbinding. I felt Albert’s trepidation as he tries to win the trust of the skittish little foal, and his frustration as he tries to tame the thoroughbred into becoming a working horse, because the nervousness and then the power of the young and adult Joey respectively, were so accurately portrayed in the nuanced sounds and movements of the puppets. The attention to detail is mind blowing.
As the story moves on, punctuated by regular little flashes of humour and clever observations about life at the time, the designers come into their own. How do you convey the scale of war? How, in just over an hour, do you move the audience from the bravado and propaganda at the start of the war, through the juxtaposition of terror and camaraderie on the battlefield to the sheer desolation and futility towards the end without risk of dishonouring the memory of the many real people that lost their lives? Clever use of sound and lighting, slow motion, graphics, moments of humour and humanity and moments of feeling shocked and overpowered by the scale of the props in perfect combination, take you on the journey and draw you into the ever changing tide of emotions. My 12 year old didn’t fidget once, he was transfixed, as was I, for the entire show.
Overall I felt that this production is a masterclass in theatre production. Every aspect of it from design to puppets, acting (and puppeteering) to special effects and use of the space, combine to make you leave the theatre feeling like you’ve been part of something extraordinary. There are only a few times in my life when I have left the theatre thinking – ‘I will remember that for the rest of my days’ and War Horse is definitely one of them. In these times when we hear that AI will takeover the world and so much of the entertainment we consume is in bite-sized reels and TikTok videos, it was reassuring to be reminded of the quality that can be achieved when a team of talented, creative people work together to bring the impossible to life. I now want to take everyone I know to share in this special experience.
Kate Richards
Get the Chance