‘War Horse’ is essentially a love story set within the madness of WWI, told through the most sensational spectacle of puppetry imaginable and some very gifted actors on a small stage.
Visually and emotionally thrilling, ‘War Horse’ is a wild, exuberant and galloping ride from go to 'whoa, Nelly!'
At its core, it’s a very sweet story of a boy called Albert (played by Scott Miller) and his horse, Joey, who grows from a colt to a full-grown horse before our very eyes, just as Albert becomes a man. Twelve puppeteers, working in rotation at different performances, play Joey throughout the show. Their skill at bringing Joey to snorting, tail-twitching, neighing life cannot be overstated. It’s as good as magic.
Based on the book 'War Horse' by Michael Morpurgo, the story grows, as do Albert and Joey, and follows their exciting but perilous journey to France when Albert’s father sells Joey as an infantry horse to the war effort and young Albert follows him to war. The show never trivialises the immense loss of life during wartime and honours the soldiers, the horses and even casual bystanders as victims of war, while also celebrating all that is good about human beings.
Along the way, there are realistic and terrifying battle scenes, complete with explosions, flashing gunpowder and soldiers at battle crawling about in the front of the stage in the front row. The staging is managed with some very clever prop use as the stage transforms from rural farmland to a ship, a hospital or a battlefield in the blink of an eye.
A single long white cloud decorates the stage as sky and is present through the entire production. It displays the projected artwork of Rae Smith and provides an eloquent visual narrative for each scene, from raging bombardment and war-torn battlefields to bucolic farmland.
Image © Brinkhoff Mogenburg
At the time of the most recent programme printing for this production, eight million people had seen ‘War Horse’, compared to ten million soldiers who died in WWI. That’s a staggering number of souls to lose and an especially grotesque toll considering that historians still don’t know or agree on what even caused all that ruckus. Perhaps too, spare a thought for the one million horses who were taken to France from Britain – only 62,000 returned.
‘War Horse’ plays out more like an epic film than a theatre show, with stage direction and clever use of props that mimic wide shot panoramas and camera close-ups. The lighting is spectacular and effective, particularly in battle scenes, and all of the actors are amazing, with strong and beautiful performances by Natalie Kimmerling as French farm girl Emilie, Danny Hendrix as friend and infantryman Billy, Jo Castleton as Albert’s mother Rose and of course Scott Miller as Albert.
Still, the Winners Cup for this show would have to go to Joey and his amazing puppeteers for their magical skills and for expertly wizarding some sticks and fabric into a living, breathing being that we all care so much about.
Two little girls who were seated in front of me were utterly hypnotised, occasionally ejecting an “Oh!” or a delighted gasp, holding hands when Joey was in danger and perched on the edge of their seats during battle scenes. This incredible show held the attention and hearts of those 7 and 9-year-olds and everyone else in the theatre for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
If you want to catch it, you’d better giddy up!
War Horse Tour Dates
Until 8 February – Regent Theatre (Melbourne)15 February-15 March – Sydney Lyric Theatre
24 March-12 April – Crown Theatre (Perth)
