This evening I went and saw "Warhorse", which is based on the award winning book by Michael Morpurgo.
It tells the story of a boy named Albert, whose horse, Joey is sold to the cavalry at the outbreak of World War One and shipped to France. Joey, the horse, is soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before
finding himself alone in no man’s land. Meanwhile, Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to the trenches to find him and bring him home.
As Kylie and I were waiting for lights down, I was perusing the programme. It cost just £4 but was in full colour, A4 sized and included the history of the book, information about the war and cast bios. Why do we get so ripped off on souvenir programmes back home? I have a programme for every show I have seen in London. It is quite a stack! But it is because they are so affordable!
A man in uniform walked on stage, clutching a sketch book and looked up as the auditorium lights dimmed. Then he began to sing a most haunting tune and the audience fell silent. Birds on long, thin sticks were "flying" about the stage by the control of two men. This still gets me, even now. Ideas which are so, so simple- can bring things to life.
Then on came the foal. Joey. It was the cutest little thing, controlled by three people; head, heart and hind. I did feel a little sorry for the heart... A lady, bent over for about 30 minutes! It moved and looked like a foal- it was "breathing" the entire time, it's ears twitched, tail swatted, head moved in a horse-like fashion, and it's wee legs even looked so horse-like. Incredible. The way it moved about the stage was so real looking I actually hardly noticed the three people controlling it.
The cast were consistently involved with the "set" and "props". The set was hardly anything, a door pretty much, but being this got moved about it was more of a prop! The cast were in control of the rest of the "set"- fences to contain the horse and so on. The way in which they used props was outstanding, things came on stage which changed the setting, e.g. rolls of barbed wire, held onto by 'invisible' cast members - it was all so smooth and clever.
The man who was on stage at the start kept coming back on stage at poignant moments to sing another tale- sometimes acapella and sometimes he accompanied himself on an old accordion, which made it even more haunting. Occassionally, he was joined by a violist. The music was superb - a small army band of five. The usual brass, plus clarinet. It was nice that they were quite involved and often seen playing, wearing costumes too.
The leads were excellent, there was not one weak cast member. The man who played Albert, Joey's owner- was really the lead for the most part. He was brilliant, he had he audience eating out of the palm of his hand! Albert's parents, Uncle and cousin were all equally excellent. His uncle and cousin were easy to dislike, which was the idea.
It was about 20 minutes or so into the show, and in from the rear of the stage burst Joey as a stallion. My jaw dropped. It wasn't until my mouth felt dry that I realised it was still hanging open! It was a real WOW moment, Joey galloped about the stage, his hooves tilted like a real horse- he whinnied and sounded like the real deal. These puppets are just incredible, not to forget about the puppeteers! What a job they have. No down time- these horses must be alive 100% of the time, and they well and truly were! I was watching out for that.
Did I cry? Oh yes I did... It is such a moving story, and one I was not familiar with as I've not read it, but would now like to. Should you see it? Definitely. This is a DO NOT MISS production of beautiful simplicity and storytelling at it's best. I wonder if the up and coming movie will do it any justice? I'm not going to say anything more... because I think you need to see it :)
Warhorse. In a word? aMaZiNg!!!
And Mum ... this is theatre magic at its best xxx
Cheery bye :)
PS) I will leave you with some reviews... the last one is quite true!
FIVE STARS: ‘Genius isn’t too strong a word to describe this astonishing production. Daily Telegraph
FIVE STARS: ‘Be sure not to miss this stunning show.’ The Times
FIVE STARS: ‘A uniquely moving spectacle.’ Daily Mail
FIVE STARS: ‘I wept like a baby through War Horse at the National, and again all through this transfer.’ Sunday Times
FIVE STARS: ‘The most moving and spectacular play in London.’ Sunday Express
‘If ever a piece of theatre worked magic then it must be War Horse.’ Evening Standard
‘War Horse has galloped from the Olivier to the welcoming expanses of the New London Theatre. It’s a perfect fit. Brilliantly inventive.’ Independent
‘Theatrical magic… puppetry that has to be seen to be believed.’ Metro
Official London Warhorse Trailer
Warhorse in Rehearsals...
really don't like you any more!
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