War Horse
PUPPET DESIGN, FABRICATION and DIRECTION: Adrian Kohler with Basil Jones for the Handspring Puppet Company
ORIGINAL DIRECTORS: Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris
DIRECTOR: Alex Sims
DIRECTOR OF MOVEMENT AND HORSE CHOREOGRAPHY: Toby Sedgwick
ANIMATION AND PROJECTION DESIGN: 59 Productions
CAST: Twelve puppeteers play Joey and Topthorn in rotation with South African Richard Vorster as one of the Joey head handlers together with a large ensemble who play Joey’s human family and the rest of the players
VENUE: Teatro at Montecasino
UNTIL: November 30
RATING: *****
It’s a five star experience all the way! Take a much-delayed South African bow, Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones of the Handspring Puppet Company. It’s about time your fellow South Africans have the chance to embrace this astonishing achievement. And how momentous you were on the night of this spectacular premiere!
But how apt that War Horse, described by the author of the book as a story that through this majestic masterpiece has been turned into an anthem of peace, finally comes to our shores during the 100 year commemoration of World War I.
From Joey’s first appearance as a feisty foal to the splendid creature that emerges once fully grown, it’s clear this will be an extraordinary event. This is a spectacle that is purely visceral and grabs you from the very first sighting of these magical animals and their puppeteers that become part of their being.
It’s in the movement, the sheer scale, the sounds of the horses that give them life, the way they shake their heads, cock them to one side, wiggle their ears and breathe, constantly, so that you enter their world without any hesitation.
This is the real thing and difficult to believe unless you’re there to witness it live.
Having experienced Joey and the rest of the team on NT Live, this is one instance when live theatre cannot be replicated.
You need to see and feel the size, how the horses breathe and how they rear onto their hind legs seemingly filling the large expanse of the Teatro stage.
What turns this into such a fantastical theatrical phenomenon is the production in its entirety. It starts with the a Capella singing by the full cast that bookends the show, the sensitive lighting which spot-lights a specific incident while fading out on that which might detract, the perfection of the animals in size, sound and sheer spectacle from the largesse of the horses to the vivacity of the cocky goose, the nuanced performances by the puppeteers, and the cast topped by the pitch perfect performance of the mother by Karen Henthorn.
Bringing it all together is a backdrop which starts out as a bank of clouds and turns into a narrative that provides setting and context which adds to the drama of the story tumbling out on stage.
Pieter Toerien, with sponsors Rand Merchant Bank, were thanked for their courage and perhaps more than any other, the space that the stage of the Teatro provides was supremely utilized with a production that needs to be that overwhelming and exposed to fully realize its potential.
It’s powerful, potent and fully engages the public. It reminds us again of the creative talent that pulses through our country. It’s a force to be reckoned with and as the Handspring Puppet Company so easily bears testament to, with more than five million people experiencing War Horse internationally so far, we can compete anywhere in the world.
If you’re still scratching your head about family festivities, think no more.
Perhaps not for the tiny tots, this is a tough story exquisitely told, but few will hold back the tears and there’s an age restriction of 10. But gather those in the clan that are old enough. If this doesn’t get you to the theatre, shame on you. And I can share a secret, when Joey came to take his final bow, you know there’s a live heart beating there.