When director Marianne Elliott first presented Nick Stafford’s adaptation of War Horse on the stage of London’s Olivier Theatre eighteen years ago, it reminded us of why we have a National Theatre. It brought us storytelling of global importance, world-class staging, and groundbreaking theatrical techniques that redefined what puppetry could achieve in the theatre.
It has since become one of the National’s most enduringly popular productions, with tours reaching audiences worldwide, and this revival tour, under the direction of Tom Morris and Katie Henry, is in Liverpool for two weeks in what marks the play’s third visit to the Empire Theatre.
The play, like Michael Morpurgo’s source novel, encapsulates the horror of war and brings it to life with a simple but far-reaching story of love and loyalty. Young Albert Narracott forms an unbreakable bond with the foal, Joey. With the outbreak of world war and the sale of Joey to the cavalry, both Abert and his cousin Billy enlist and head to the front. The rest of the play follows the exploits of Albert, Billy and Joey, through the terrifying scenes and tragedy at the Somme and beyond. Along the way, the conciliatory power of the loyalty of horses highlights the humanity of those who were pitted against one another in war.
The most memorable stars of the show are undeniably the horses, brought so vividly to life by Adrian Kohler’s extraordinary puppets and their uncannily talented team of puppeteers. From the opening scenes with Joey as a foal, right through to the emotional finale, the intricate detail of the puppets’ movement with every twitch of the ear or flick of the tail is impeccably portrayed. The breathing of the nervous foal in those early moments captivates the audience completely, and from that point on the puppets are alive and the puppeteers invisible.
But the play has a large cast of human actors too, and their ensemble work is outstanding. Tom Sturgess and Haydn Burke give compelling performances as Albert and Billy, as does Alexander Ballinger as Captain Müller, and Jo Castleton delivers poignantly sung ballads as Albert’s mother Rose.
Staged on Rae Smith’s breathtakingly stark set, the action unfolds beneath a broad strip of cloth, giving the appearance of a fragment torn from a sketchbook, upon which animated projections remind us of the way in which much of our understanding of World War One reached us – in the notebooks, writings and drawings of the soldiers. It also respectfully harks back to the literary nature of the play’s source material. Lighting by Rob Casey is meticulously done, and creates an electric atmosphere along with Adrian Sutton’s splendidly evocative musical score. It is worth noting here that all the house lights (including exit signs) are completely extinguished during several scenes in order to give full impact to the stage effects, so the requirement to turn mobile phones and smart watches off is doubly important in this performance.
This is heart-rending storytelling presented with immaculate stagecraft. The tragedy of the underlying narrative is never shied away from, but moments of wit and humour, along with the transcendent humanity of the principal characters and the loyalty of the horses elevate the mood turning it into a tremendously uplifting piece of theatre.
War Horse is an unmissable event, and plays at Liverpool Empire until 19th April. It then continues touring nationwide through to November.
Star rating: 5 stars
The cast of War Horse - Photo © Brinkhoff-Moegenburg
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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