Since its stunning debut on the Olivier stage at the National Theatre in 2007, War Horse has been performed worldwide to over 8 million people at 7,500 plus performances; it is comfortably the most successful show that the NT has ever produced. Now in 2024, new audiences have the opportunity to follow the adventures of Joey, the eponymous War Horse, in a new production that will tour the UK for the next year, and once again, wherever they get to see it, adults and children alike will gaze in wonder at this startling theatrical achievement.
Based on the 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo – a man who disproves the adage you should never meet your heroes – we follow Joey from a Devonshire farmyard foal, through the nightmare of the Somme in 1917 to his eventual bittersweet reunion with Albert (Tom Sturgess). Morpurgo’s novel has been beautifully adapted by Nick Stafford, allowing the essential message that the suffering, heroism, grief and courage displayed by all sides in conflict needed to be shown, regardless of the uniform they wore. By utilising the mute presence of an animal as the central character around which the story develops, the actions and movement onstage becomes as important as the lines that are spoken, the piece is almost balletic in its choreography and therefore gains a universality of appeal across differing cultures and generations.
In order to successfully suspend our disbelief, the central character of Joey needs to be wholly believable; the puppetry of the Handspring Company makes you see horses onstage, not only is their movement completely convincing but the quick swish of a tail or the pricking of ears adds character to the individual portrayals. By the time we reach the conclusion, Joey stuck in barbed wired no man’s land, the audible audience crying and snuffles spoke volumes of Handspring’s ability to totally persuade.
With such superb effects it would be easy for the acting to become overshadowed, but Sturgess is excellent in developing Tom from a callow country boy into a man who has endured the horrors of war in search of his equine love. Indeed, the entire ensemble play convincing support in a wide range of roles, squeezing humour from the inability of characters to communicate across language barriers whilst pathos is found in the epistolary communication between Tom and his parents.
This production is an example of every department working at the peak of their creativity. The set is deceptively simple, a white torn page on a black background, upon which Designer Rae Smith projects line drawn animations evoking time and place; lighting by Rob Casey is simply extraordinary in both its depiction of the beauty of Devonshire and the hellscape of the Somme. Small touches abound, the glutinous mud shown as a tarpaulin dragged across the stage as Joey pulls a gun carriage to superb effect, the lilting musicality of simple country songs and martial tunes add to a sense of time and place.
As a piece of writing, ‘War Horse’ deserves a place alongside ‘Birdsong’, ‘Journeys End’ and the poetry of Sassoon, Brook and Owen in its depiction of the horror of the 1914-18 conflict. However, as a piece of theatre it surpasses all these great works, deserving a place in the pantheon of truly great art of the last century.
A stupendous theatrical achievement that is not to be missed.
Reviewer: Paul Wilcox
Reviewed: 22nd September 2024
North West End UK Rating: