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A night of theatrical magic
Changing face of war: a frightened Joey, from the lost age of horse soldiers, comes face to face with the new cavalry, tanks. Pictures Ellie Kurttze War Horse Birmingham Hippodrome ***** EVERY so often the curtain rises on a
production which makes you realise and remember what a poorer place the
world would be without theatre. War Horse is such a creation, a piece of
theatrical magic, which is dramatic, sad, tragic, funny and at times
incredibly moving. You can only marvel at the stagecraft needed to
bring Michael Morpurgo's 1982 children's novel superbly to life in a
production where design, lighting and direction deserve equal billing
with fine acting and stunning puppetry.
The puppets, from the Handspring Puppetry Company, with a rotating cast of 12 puppeteers operating Joey and Topthorn, are the heartbeat of the story of Albert, an illiterate Devon farm boy and his love for his horse Joey, set again st the horrors of the First World War. The switch of puppets, in literally a flash, from the young Joey as a foal to a full grown hunter is just breathtaking in its execution. Joey and Topthorn, the officer's thoroughbred are
the puppetry stars – along with a rather nosey goose – and such is the
power of this National Theatre production that although it is obvious to
anyone you are watching giant artworks made of cane, fabric, wires and
rods, operated skillfully by three humans, imagination takes over. All
the audience ever see - and shed the odd tear for - are two horses with
their own characters and personalities.
Apparently the British Army took a million horses
to war in France – just 62,000 returned. Steven Hillman gives us a weak, pig-headed,
abusive father as Ted, a man who is bitter about his past,
too
often lets drink do his talking in his long running feud and rivalry
with his brother Arthur (David Fleeshman).
It is that sibling rivalry which saw him, tankard in hand, spend his farm's mortgage money in paying an outlandish 39 guineas for Joey as a foal just to outbid Arthur, who wanted the horse for his son, Billy. Karen Henthorn as Ted's sharp-tongued wife Rose keeps him in line, at least she does when he is not sinking cider in the pub but there is more to worry about then Ted's drinking with a dark shadow moving across the land; The Great War is about to change the world for ever. Ted, despite
having promised that Joey was Albert's horse, goes back on his word and
falls for the lure of cash, selling him to the Army while Arthur, afraid his son might be labelled a
coward, like his Uncle Ted, signs Billy up to fight for his country –
it's the King's shilling rather than £100 for Billy as Arthur
unwittingly signs away his son's life. The horrors of war are magnificently portrayed
with little more than explosions and stark, harsh white lighting. When
Joey and Topthorn, along with two skeletal horses are forced to pull a
heavy gun we can feel the strain and the pain, we can experience the
horror and futility of the a cavalry charge against machine guns and
through barbed wire. Explaining the charge is impossible, just accept
that, for a few moment, you were there, on the Western Front in 1914. The appearance of a tank is another intense
moment, a skeletal giant lit harshly by a blinding white light behind. Hauptmann Friedrich Müller, played by Martin Wenner with Topthorn in the background We are introduced to Capt Stewart (James Alper)
and Lt Nicholls, cavalry officers fighting a war from another age, then
there are the eager raw recruits, expecting to be home by Christmas
1914, with the likes of Sgts Fine (Adam Foster) and Allen (Simeon Truby)
and Thunder (Sean Armstrong) trying to lick them into shape and keep
them alive. War has two sides so we also come across Germans,
in particular Hauptmann Friedrich Müller, played by Martin Wenner, who
sinks into despair as he realises what war has done to him after he
almost kills a young French girl, Emilie (Nisa Cole) by accident. There is an amusing, and very human exchange,
when Joey becomes entangled in barbed wire in no man's land after
running blindly way from the Narrating the story in traditional song is North East folk singer Bob Fox as the Song Maker while a huge cast, more than 30 strong give an authentic, solid feel to crowd scenes and battles.
The design by Rae Smith is a bare stage relying
on a few poles held by crowds for an auction ring, doorframes for farms
and hospitals all below a giant cloud which carries video images in
chalk and charcoal drawings and animations from Leo Warner and Mark
Grimmer of 59 Productions. Thus the scene is set by costumes and minimal
props and images of farms, battles, ships, troops and the havoc of war
with the only real colour an image of bright red poppies – surely one of
the most poignant, recognisable and iconic images ever. The production is beautifully lit by Paule
Constable while the dramatic sound is designed by Christopher Shutt. The
clever lighting allows the rear of the stage to be almost an extension
of the wings as we see crowds appear and descend on the market or troops
emerge from the darkness into the gloom of a charge over no man's land –
it even helps create that magical transformation from foal to full grown
Joey. The sound of battle can be deafening while floods
of blinding light into the audience assault the senses and burn black
and white images into imagination. Timing and synchronisation of light and sound is
much down to computers but that hardly makes it any less impressive.
The front row becomes the front line turned into
the opposing trenches as British and German troops peer over the edge of
the stage with periscopes to see Joey trapped in the wire, while Joey
trots up and down the aisle so close he brushed my leg. Nick Stafford has adapted a childrens' story,
albeit a very good one, so it is not surprising to find at its heart a
simple, easy to follow adventure story with its fair share of
sentimentality, but this is much more than that. It is powerful theatre
with all the elements working together to create almost three hours of
sheer magic. The show is sold out* at Birmingham Hippodrome so
if you have a ticket guard it with your life. This is a landmark
theatrical event that simply should not be missed. To 09-11-13. Roger Clarke This is the first UK tour of the National
Theatre production, a production which opened in 2007 and has been seen
by almost 5 million people around the world, had more than 1,000 actors
appear in it, was made into a hit film by Steven Spielberg, and has made
Michael Morpurgo into a household name. *The show is fully booked apart from a few
single seats in the rear circle so if you have tickets but cannot attend
for any reason contact the Hippodrome to return your tickets, less a
small administration charge, and to inquire about returns contact 0844
338 5000 (calls cost from 5p per min).
War Horse rides off next to The Lowry in Salford,
the Lowry in Manchester, (Nov) Edinburgh's Festival Theatre (Jan 2014),
The Mayflower Theatre in Southampton (Feb), Ireland's Bord Gais Energy
Theatre in Dublin (Mar), Sunderland Empire (April) Alhambra Theatre,
Bradford (May), the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff (June) with
the tour ending at The Lowry again in July next year.
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battle and noise of the tank attack and both German and British troops
co-operate under a truce to rescue him. A toss of a coin takes Joey back
to British lines and, despite a few more ordeals, a happy ending.
Directors
Marianne Elliot and Tom Morris - Alex Sims is the director on tour –
bring the action even closer to the audience.