Let's play: "WAR HORSE"

(Wooden puppets: Good, Wooden acting: bad)

This week's play review is on "War Horse," the most elaborate puppets how you'll ever see.

I'm rating Week 2's play on a scale of 1-5 Sir Sean Connery's.*

2.5 Connery's out of five.
"War Horse"
Based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo
Adapted by Nick Stafford
Now playing at the Royal National Theater prices: £10.00 and £40.00
Run time: 2 hrs. 25 min.


Puppet horses are cool.

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"War Horse" review
By Matt Levin

It’s the simple story of a boy and his horse. And war. And machine guns. And teargas. And tanks. And death.

And through it all there’s that boy and his horse—and that’s the problem of “War Horse.” Through all this mayhem, destruction and murder, why should we care about one horse?

That’s not to say there’s nothing to care for in "War Horse," a drama by Nick Stafford adapted ffrom the Michael Morpurgo book of the same name. The play, which runs at the Royal National Theatre, is a beautiful fusion of puppets and people. The theatrics occurring on stage are stirring enough to take a superficial main plot and make it a breathtaking production.

The Handspring Puppet Company and their props, most notably two gallant war horses Joey and Topthorn, are the stars of the show. The puppeteers gallop with enough graceful that it’s easy to forget there are human legs trotting beneath the wooden beasts. That combined with a morph-able stage, tremendous uses of smoke and light, excellent sound effects, some entertaining music numbers and one notorious puppet-powered goose—make “War Horse” a marvel for audience members.

If only the plot felt as grand. The play begins with Albert Narracott (Kit Harrington) being forced to raise a horse named Joey that his father bought in a drunken stupor. Albert and Joey overcome some obstacles, and it looks like they’re destined to be together forever—until World War I abruptly comes into the picture.

Albert’s father, seeing a way to make back the money he made when he bought the horse, sells the animal for 100 pounds to the army—to become a part of the cavalry.

When Albert learns the officer who promised to protect his horse was killed(in one of the most glorious death scenes you’ll ever see on stage—as some of the puppeteers help Major Nicholls “flip” through the air as he’s blasted out of Joey’s saddle), Albert sneaks into the army and begins a search for his beloved horse.

You expect this to be a coming-of-age story. But Albert never seems to notice all the terror occurring around him. He kills a man, watches his best friend almost die and observes explosions in every direction— none of it seems to change Albert in anyway. Only once Albert realizes his horse could be dead does Albert change—into a deep depression.

One German soldier named Friedrich (Patrick O'Kane), who adores another horse in Joey’s cavalry called Topthorn, does a brilliant job of showing the horrors of war while using the horse as a theme of returning to normal life and his wife.

But in the end mainly what you get is—Joey whinnying and Albert whining.

Sure many theatregoers could be heard sniffling during some of the climatic scenes featuring Albert and/or his horse. But me—well, I’m more of a dog person.

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Foot notes
*"I am the last one!" This link was inspired by one Taylor Weidman. He has a humorous London photo blog over here. Also it's prettier.