War Horse first exploded onto stage at the National Theatre in 2007 and the current touring production shows why, nearly twenty years later, it is still playing to capacity audiences around the world. It is a story that depicts the First World War on all its scales, from the nightmarish monstrosities of field artillery and tanks tearing through a battlefield to the personal struggles of single characters, both human and animal, swept up in the unstoppable tide of events around them. Director Tom Morris and Revival Director Katie Henry have used movement to great effect to capture the imagination of the audience and draw them in – the shambling soldiers climbing onto the boats, the twitching trooper suffering from shell shock after his first battle and the complex slow-motion choreography of the disastrous first cavalry charge are just some of the standout moments where the cast demonstrate their considerable skill in conveying story and emotion without the need of words.
But of course the main focus of the production is the puppets created by Handspring Puppet Company, which absolutely and deservedly command the stage. It is a mark of the skill of all the puppeteers involved that even on the occasions when no human characters are present, the audience is entirely invested in the stories of horses Joey (played by Rianna Ash, Chris Milford and Tommy Goodridge) and Topthorn (played by Matthew Lawrence, Rafe Young and Felicity Donnelly) as they navigate the perilous battlefields of France. The control of the puppets is masterful, and the puppeteer’s attention to detail is minute: every twitch and shift of a horse’s natural movement is brought to life on stage. Honourable mentions, too, to Jordan Paris as the Head of Baby Joey, who managed to capture the audience’s hearts in the opening moments of the show with his nuanced and characterful performance, and to the uncredited cast member puppeteering the goose whose scene-stealing turns provided lovely comedic moments. It also feels appropriate here to mention Tom Sturgess as Albert Narracott and Alexander Ballinger as Captain Friedrich Müller,who both carry the audience with them in their ability to switch seamlessly between conversing with humans and puppets and in so doing add their own spark to the magic that brings the horses to life.
In keeping with the war-time theme, and in contrast with the life and movement of the characters, the style of the production itself is unusually bleak. The stage is often nearly empty, relying on the minimum of props to set the scene (all credit to those cast members who spend a good portion of the first part of the show impersonating fence posts!) and almost entirely black and white. The scenery consists of projected “pencil sketches”, beginning with pastoral landscapes and descending into Goya-esqe madness, almost as if the unseen hand of some unnamed soldier is adding his memories to the story. Lighting and sound are kept relatively simple for much of the show, again limited in colour and relying on a handful of live instruments and strong vocal performances by the cast (led with gusto by Anne-Marie Piazza as The Singer). However, all this changes in the battle scenes, which are positively cinematic in their scope. Blinding flashes of light combine with the slow-motion physical theatre and seat-rattling explosions to bring the audience right into the battle scene, while Adrian Sutton’s sweeping score is enhanced by strategic placement of live musicians in the audience galleries to create a surround-sound experience. Combined, the result is overwhelming, effective and extremely well-executed.
All in all, War Horse is an example of British theatre at its absolute best, and an experience absolutely not to be missed. The enduring legacy of this production is in safe hands with the cast, crew and creatives of the current National Tour.
War Horse plays at the Regent Theatre until Saturday 8th March where it continues its UK tour.
Photography throughout from Brinkhoff-Moegenburg.
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