Almost 20 years since War Horse was first staged, this memorable piece of theatre continues to enthral and delight with capacity audiences rushing to enjoy the action.
Many of those in the audience will have come to relive a night of drama that touches the heart and mind in equal fashion but the play continues to attract War Horse virgins. Together, the experienced and the newcomers unite to wallow in the magnificence of a production directed by Tom Morris and Revival Director Katie Henry.
Basically, the drama is a story of the love between a horse known as Joey and his devoted owner teenager Albert Narracott (Tom Sturgess) and depicts how being close to an animal can bring out the best in humanity, it follows the life of the horse from its purchase at auction by Albert’s father Ted (Karl Haynes).
The purchase was only made to defy Ted’s brother Arthur (Gareth Radcliffe) and his son Billy (Haydn Burke) and Ted is roundly berated by his wife Rose (Jo Castleton) as the money spent to buy the horse was intended for the mortgage. Rose is soon calmed down as a bond develops between Albert and Joey and attempts to steal the horse away from the family are rebuffed.
Unfortunately, the country is on the verge of war and Ted cannot resist the tempting offer to sell Joey to become a cavalry horse and, much to Albert’s distress, the horse becomes the property of Lieutenant Nicholls (Chris Williams) who has been a long-time admirer. Alongside Captain Stewart (Daniel Rock) and his horse Topthorn the cavalry regiment is deployed to France.
The officers soon realise that modern warfare is no place for the glorious cavalry charge and the two horses soon fall into enemy hands where they are looked after by the kindly Captain Friedrich Muller (Alexander Bollinger) who finds them jobs where they are safe from danger.
However, with the German army in full retreat, Joey and Topthorn are pressed into service as draught horses and experience the full horrors of war.
Meanwhile, Albert is unable to forget his beloved companion and runs away to enlist as an under-age soldier. The sixteen year old is transferred to France where he befriends David Taylor (Ike Bennett). Together, they make their way through the warfare but as the carnage intensifies how many of the main characters will survive? And as Joey and Albert become more and more damaged by the war will they ever meet again?
Those answers are provided in beautifully dramatic fashion in which all of the cast do a first class job. Each and every member contributes to a wonderful piece of story-telling with Sturgess and Bollinger being supremely effective in their roles as characters who have great empathy with their horses. It is of great credit to the cast members that they are able to do so well in their roles with all that is going on round them and a communal debt of gratitude is extended to them for their efforts as there are too many to mention individually.
The Directors have certainly pulled out all of the technological trickery possible. Excellent projections and animation provide a backscreen and congratulations must be extended to Nicol Scott and Ben Pearcy and also to Lighting Designer Rob Casey whose work greatly enhanced the action particularly the terrifying appearance of a tank in battle.
However, the true stars of the show are Joey and Topthorn. Their creation was the work of Handspring Puppet Company and it is proof of how excellent their work is that it takes only a couple of minutes to believe that they are living, breathing entities rather than mere puppets. There are many wonderful scenes involving the horses but the creation of a cavalry charge in full flight to end Act 1 will live long in the memory. Many congratulations to Toby Sedgwick and Matthew Forbes for the choreography and direction of these magnificent beasts and for Rianna Ash, Chris Milford and Tommy Goodridge alongside Matthew Lawrence, Rafe Young and Felicity Donnelly for their work inside Joey and Topthorn respectively and to Jordan Paris, Eloise Beaumont-Wood and Diany Samba-Bandza for their animation of Joey as a foal.
This is a play that has everything. Aside from the realistically acted drama there are very appropriate musical interludes mainly provided by The Singer (Anne-Marie Piazza) and some genuinely laugh out loud moments. There are also some scenes of true poignancy. Albert saying goodbye to his horse will bring tears to the driest eye and the feel-good finale brings the house down.
The term warhorse is often referred to a player past his best. That would certainly not apply to this production. Joey et al have the energy to gallop on well into the future. Join the cavalry charge to be a part of this unforgettable production.
War Horse has a running time of approximately 2 hours 35 minutes including interval and continues until March 8th. For ticket information contact atgtickets.com/stoke.
