![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spooky_missWar Horse
Last week I went to see War Horse at the New London theatre in London (which was probably the most modern theatre I’ve been to in London, and had a magical escalator which went whichever way you needed it to go!! :D ) . I’d heard a lot about how great it was, and my parents, who had seen it before, said that we should definitely see it, so I was looking forward to it, and it didn’t disappoint – that’s an understatement actually, its one of the best theatre productions I have ever seen.
War Horse is based on a book by Michael Morpurgo. It tells the story of Joey the horse, and Albert, his owner. Albert’s father buys Joey as a foal, with the mortgage money!! after competing with his brother over who can give the highest price. Albert grows up with Joey and they become very close. At the outbreak of the First World War, Albert’s father sells Joey to the army, for £100, and Joey goes off to France. Albert is very upset at this, and he joins the army to go to find Joey. I don’t want to spoil the story, but the story continues to follow Joey and Albert through both of their experiences of the war, from both the British and German sides – which I thought was good, that its not just from the British point of view.
The story is very sad and very well told, with a member of the cast singing a few verses at points in the story to advance the story and show the passing of time. But it is the horses who really steal the show. They are puppets, operated by three people each – two inside the body and one by the head. They are so talented, even though you know they are puppets you forget that – they move and twitch and flick their tails just like real horses. The person standing by the head of the horse moves the head and ears around, but you get so wrapped up in the story that I almost forgot that – it was like they were just standing and holding the head of a real horse, who was moving independently from them. There was a really moving part when one of the horses died and the puppet operators respectfully moved away from the horse, signifying his death and lack of movement.
I don’t know if that sounds a bit silly – you’re probably thinking how can you forget they’re puppets – but it truly did feel like that. It is so clever and so amazingly done. I definitely recommend this to anyone – even if you haven’t been to the theatre before, the story is absorbing and clear, and will really draw you in. One thing I would say is that I’m not sure if its suitable for the very youngest children - the war parts do get a bit loud and could be scary. But everyone else - Go and see it now!
Last week I went to see War Horse at the New London theatre in London (which was probably the most modern theatre I’ve been to in London, and had a magical escalator which went whichever way you needed it to go!! :D ) . I’d heard a lot about how great it was, and my parents, who had seen it before, said that we should definitely see it, so I was looking forward to it, and it didn’t disappoint – that’s an understatement actually, its one of the best theatre productions I have ever seen.
War Horse is based on a book by Michael Morpurgo. It tells the story of Joey the horse, and Albert, his owner. Albert’s father buys Joey as a foal, with the mortgage money!! after competing with his brother over who can give the highest price. Albert grows up with Joey and they become very close. At the outbreak of the First World War, Albert’s father sells Joey to the army, for £100, and Joey goes off to France. Albert is very upset at this, and he joins the army to go to find Joey. I don’t want to spoil the story, but the story continues to follow Joey and Albert through both of their experiences of the war, from both the British and German sides – which I thought was good, that its not just from the British point of view.
The story is very sad and very well told, with a member of the cast singing a few verses at points in the story to advance the story and show the passing of time. But it is the horses who really steal the show. They are puppets, operated by three people each – two inside the body and one by the head. They are so talented, even though you know they are puppets you forget that – they move and twitch and flick their tails just like real horses. The person standing by the head of the horse moves the head and ears around, but you get so wrapped up in the story that I almost forgot that – it was like they were just standing and holding the head of a real horse, who was moving independently from them. There was a really moving part when one of the horses died and the puppet operators respectfully moved away from the horse, signifying his death and lack of movement.
I don’t know if that sounds a bit silly – you’re probably thinking how can you forget they’re puppets – but it truly did feel like that. It is so clever and so amazingly done. I definitely recommend this to anyone – even if you haven’t been to the theatre before, the story is absorbing and clear, and will really draw you in. One thing I would say is that I’m not sure if its suitable for the very youngest children - the war parts do get a bit loud and could be scary. But everyone else - Go and see it now!
