War Horse canters in for run in the capital

The award-winning and commercially successful show hits Dublin, reports Jo Kerrigan

THE spectacular dramatisation of Michael Morpurgo’s beloved children’s story has been a sensation wherever it has been played since it was first staged back in 2007. Now the National Theatre’s production of War Horse makes its Irish premiere at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin this week.

War Horse is the powerful tale of a young boy called Albert and his beloved horse, Joey, who has been requisitioned to fight for the British in World War I. Caught in enemy crossfire, Joey ends up serving on both sides during the war before landing in No Man’s Land, while Albert, not old enough to enlist, embarks on a desperate mission to find his horse and bring him safely home. It’s a remarkable tale of courage, loyalty and friendship from an author who has written over 100 books and was Children’s Laureate 2003-2005.

Yet the original book had a quiet enough start in life, he says. “War Horse wasn’t an immediate hit on publication, but the National Theatre had been actively looking for a storyline that could be turned into a play for all the family, and they chose it as the ideal one.”

It was incredible working with the National, recalls Morpurgo. “They were so creative, they brought in internationally renowned puppeteers, spent simply ages working out the sets and the action – and, although it was a huge risk, it proved to be a smash hit for them.”

In fact the National had estimated a six-week run at best, but the public took the show to their hearts — and told their friends. Following two sold-out seasons, War Horse moved to the New London Theatre in Drury Lane, where people still queue daily in hope of tickets for months ahead (it’s currently booking to 2015). It packed them in on Broadway for an exceptionally long run, and a major North American tour continues through 2014. To date it’s been seen by over 4 million people. Even England’s Queen, attended by Prince Philip, tiptoed in quietly to see it in the West End. It has won awards wherever it has gone, including five Tonys.

And then, of course, Steven Spielberg turned it into a movie in 2011. Morpurgo was gently pleased at actually getting to meet the great director in person. “I like Spielberg. He’s intelligent and fun, and he does listen to your ideas. He spent a lot of time thinking of how he wanted to present this movie, what he wanted to get across.”

Joey made a new friend on Friday. He's looking forward to coming back to Dublin at the end of the month! #warhorse pic.twitter.com/AutLwkgMf9

— Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (@BGETheatre) March 10, 2014

The real draw of War Horse, though, is undoubtedly in the live staged production which features incredible, ground-breaking puppetry work by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company. This is the creative team that was responsible for bringing breathing and galloping horses to actual vivid life on stage.

Here are some of the fascinating facts and figures about those unique horses. It takes a full eight months to build a complete set of puppets for War Horse; they are handmade by 14 craftsmen and women. The finished horse puppets weigh approximately 43 kilos for the body, including the puppeteers’ backpacks, and another 7.7 kilos for the head. They are made of cane and leather, with tyvec, a material used in book-binding, for the manes and tails. The torso is reinforced with aluminium and strong enough to carry a rider on top. There are 23 puppets overall in War Horse including, as well as horses Joey and Topthorn, a goose, two swallows and two crows.

Joey, Topthorn and Joey as a foal are each operated by three puppeteers — the Head, the Heart and the Hind. The three puppeteers work together as a team to create the character of each horse and to produce the horse noises. It sounds bald, but to see one of these incredible creatures in action, moving, breathing, is to experience the real thing. It’s not only the body but the soul of a horse that you are watching. Hardly surprising that one of the key issues is to ensure the three performers bond to work as one unit.

Finn Caldwell started out as one of the puppeteers in the original War Horse cast and thus knows exactly what goes into the highly demanding onstage performance. Now Associate Puppetry Director, he explains that you have to master how a horse moves and how a horse thinks. “You have to understand his psychology and why he does something. It’s only through his movement that you understand what he’s thinking.”

Training is very rigorous, and, says Caldwell, it’s far too physically demanding for puppeteers to perform eight shows a week so they have four rotating teams to perform the two main horse characters.

We turn 4 today!To celebrate we're giving away some tickets. Take a look at our Facebook page for details http://t.co/9EPdkiNY3U #4thbday

— Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (@BGETheatre) March 18, 2014

“My job is to cast the people that are going to perform, train them in the use of the puppets and in horse psychology and movement, and help them use those techniques onstage. It’s quite like directing actors but a lot of technical elements are different. Maybe it’s more like working with musicians. They have to learn to work with the instrument and express the artistry. We look for actors with a strong physical background: martial artists, dancers, mime artists — a combination of these skills.”

The difference between the stage show and the movie is huge, he says. “Spielberg made a film and he brings you the whole thing, the real horse, actual places. You don’t have to think. In our production, the audience has a huge part to play. In fact it’s a co-author. It’s participating in bringing it to life. Everybody, whether onstage, backstage or in the auditorium, is completely bound to the show with their hearts. They believe in those horses, they feel their experiences.”

So much so, that when an accident happens — if a puppet gets damaged during the action — the audience inevitably reacts with as much shock and horror as if it were a real animal being hurt. “They wince because they have identified totally.”

That, presumably, means that, like the old Victorian pantomimes, you’ve got a bigger team backstage than out front? Caldwell laughs. “You’d better believe it. We have a whole ballet of backstage workers and it’s almost like the stop pits in car racing We even made a film of it for our own records, it’s so fascinating.”

nWar Horse, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, Mar 26-Apr 26. Matinees and evening performances. Tickets on www.ticketmaster.ie.