War Horse

In one month’s time, on 22 October 2014, the global theatre phenomenon War Horse opens in South Africa at The Teatro at Montecasino, thereafter transferring to the Artscape Opera House in Cape Town in December 2014.

 

War Horse is the powerful story 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 treacherous mission to find his horse and bring him home.

A remarkable tale of courage, loyalty and friendship, War Horse features groundbreaking puppetry work by Handspring Puppet Company. The production is directed at the National Theatre in London by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, and designed by Rae Smith with lighting by Paule Constable and movement and horse choreography by Toby Sedgwick. Alex Sims has directed the production that will tour to South Africa, with Katie Henry as associate director.

The puppet design and puppetry directors are Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler from the Cape Town based Handspring Puppet Company. Craig Leo is the associate puppetry director, with video design by 59 Productions Ltd, song-making by John Tams, music by Adrian Sutton and sound by Christopher Shutt.

Based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo, who has written over 100 books and was Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005, War Horse has been beautifully adapted by Nick Stafford. It is a story finally about peace and reconciliation, even in the midst of war. Says author Michael Morpurgo, “Some time ago Joey, the War Horse, came home to Iddesleigh, my village in Devon, to the farm where I live, where Joey was born and grew up ‘in my mind’s eye’, as I wrote the book nearly 40 years ago.

We had great celebrations.  He has become something of a local celebrity and is much loved in the small community where we live.  But now he is going back to his other home, to Basil and Adrian, to the Handspring Puppet company, to the people who, with The National Theatre of Great Britain, conceived him, made him, grew him and transformed him from a gleam in my eye, from a horse on the page, to a horse on the stage, and what a horse!

It is because of the stage play that Joey has become known and loved all over the world. He is a powerful symbol for so many, of the universal suffering in all wars, of the pity of war, of our will to survive, and our longing for peace and reconciliation. Now Joey, in the mind’s eyes of the millions who have seen him, is the Handspring Joey, the South African Joey, your Joey and our Joey, everyone’s Joey.”

As of May this year, more than 2 million people have seen War Horse in London, with over 5 million seeing the production worldwide since its opening at the National Theatre in 2007.  The production has been seen by The Queen, Prince Philip, Princess Anne, Prince William and Prince Harry as well as other famous faces including Michael Caine, Ethan Hawke, Keira Knightley, Madonna, Penelope Cruz, and Steven Spielberg, who commissioned a new film adaptation of the novel, that premiered in January 2012.

During its successful run on Broadway, War Horse received 5 Tony Awards, plus a special Tony for Handspring Puppet Company. The puppets in War Horse are handmade by 14 of Handspring’s craftsmen and women. Joey, Topthorn and Joey as a foal are each operated by three puppeteers called the Head, the Heart and the Hind, who work together to make the horse noises, bringing the equine puppets to life onstage and creating the character of each horse.

There are 23 puppets in War Horse that include a goose, two swallows and two crows. Considering Handspring’s pivotal role in the production, Chris Harper, the producer of War Horse said, “…bringing the show to South Africa is a particularly special moment in its history.”

War Horse is in its seventh successful year on the West End in London. The play has also been presented in Canada, the USA, Australia, the Netherlands (in Dutch), Germany (in German), and has recently toured the UK and Ireland.

War Horse  will be at The Teatro from 22 October to 30 November 2014.  Tickets will be available from Computicket, but contact Geraldine at 011 511 1988 for discounted block bookings.

War Horse will run at the Artscape from 5 December 2014 to 4 January 2015.  Tickets will also be available at Computicket, and for the Discount on Block Bookings, you can contact Tracy on 021 438 3301.

 Ticket prises range from R100 to R450