A Short Review: War Horse

Two nights ago Will and I went out to see the National Theatre Production of War Horse. Presented with the Handspring Puppet Company.No doubt you already know that we both thought it was incredible!

Just to start off, the show was not at the actual NT on South Bank (though it started at the Olivier in 2007), but at a theatre in the West End at the New London Theatre on Drury Lane. One of the most fabulous things, as you can see, is there is not a bad seat in the house....

So, unlike Mousetrap, a 16 pound ticket had a perfect view from the Dress Circle!

The story:
Based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo, it was adapted by Nick Stafford and directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris. Broadly, it tells the story of the plight of cavalry soldiers in WWI and of all the horses who were mistreated and died in battle. It focuses on the story of a young boy, Albert Narracott, and his beloved horse Joey--both on the farm and later as the two both engage in battle. While the book shows the war through Joey's eyes, this story has multiple protagonists to root for: Albert and Joey, of course, but also the other personified horse Topthorn, and the German cavalry officer Friedrich Muller, who is shown as a man just as disillusioned by war as anyone on our side.

The design:
This show is 2 hours and 40 minutes long. If it weren't for the amazing puppets, I would say the show was too long and moved slowly. However, watching the interaction of man and horse onstage was so remarkably real (in that special way that puppets can become real onstage, even with 3 actors manipulating them in plain view) and so engaging, one lost track of time and enjoyed the ride. The scenic and costume design by Rae Smith was genius. The costumes were more naturalistic and very earthy tones (design for the horse puppeteers subtle but brilliant), but the scenery was very smart. The largest element was a projection screen, like a piece of torn paper from a sketchbook, that brought the audience from location to location with sketches, sometimes animated. The scenery was all mobile, Brechtian in nature, as we could see everything behind, and let us move through the multiple locations very fluidly. It was a lesson in economic design--only what was necessary for both actor and audience to orient themselves.
The sound design was really the best I have heard so far in Britain, by Christopher Shutt, and the music by Adrian Sutton was haunting (you can see clips on both the NT website and the Lincoln Center website). Lighting was smart, by Paule Constable, and I'm sure Will could give you a better run down of what they did.
The puppets were designed by Adrian Kohler and Thys Stander of HPC. The production crew of this show was immense--from choreographers, music directors, dialect coaches, to the rotating cast of pupeteer/actors who took on Topthorn and Joey.

The good news: War Horse is going to Broadway! You can buy your tickets on the Lincoln Center Theater website. It begins there on March 15. If all goes well, maybe one day it will tour and come to California. The not so good news: Stephen Spielberg is making a film adaptation of the story. I don't know exactly how it is going to be made, and though the story is very good it won't be this amazing hybrid of actor and puppet--it will be naturalistic. We'll see how that turns out (I'm hoping good--Richard Curtis is on board), but it will be something entirely different from what was seen onstage.

The stage show itself is quite cinematic, and if you have the chance, I highly recommend this show. Today Will and I are off to Cambridge to get a taste of English countryside, and to see my family. Yesterday we went to the Natural History Museum and the V&A, where we saw the exhibition on Diaghiliv and the Ballet Russes. It was, of course, a great history, but also a very well put together Exhibition. Extensive review to come.

xoxo,
Antonia