War Horse
at New Theatre Oxford
until January 4
Review by JON LEWIS
FIRST staged at the National Theatre in 2007 in association with South African puppetry company Handspring, Nick Stafford’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel War Horse returned in triumph to the New Theatre after its last run in 2017-18.
Directed by Tom Morris and revival director Katie Henry, this is a theatrically thrilling story where the horrors of the First World War are experienced by a Devonshire horse, Joey (puppeteers Matthew Lawrence, head, Rafe Young, heart and felicity Donnelly, hind).
The production is one of the greatest, and most emotionally powerful in the National’s history, a tear-jerker centring on the relationship between Joey and his teenage owner Albert (Tom Sturgess).
Joey is recklessly bought at auction by Albert’s tipsy father Ted (Karl Haynes), a farmer with debts. His practical wife Rose (Jo Castleton, who also played the role seven years ago), tasks Albert with the job of grooming Joey. Albert foolishly bets that Joey, a hunter, can plough a field in front of villagers, the tension unbearable as Joey struggles, then overcomes the burden.
When the First World War breaks out, Ted sells Joey to the army and the village’s young farmers join the Devonshire yeomanry. Although too young, Albert follows Joey into war.
Battle scenes are thrillingly realised in Rae Smith’s animations, projected across the back wall like a strip of paper torn from the scrapbook of Lieutenant Nicholls (Chris Williams), the officer who becomes Joey’s next owner after sketching Joey on his runs.
Scenes of ships crossing the Channel, then the Somme with locations marked in ink, contrast radically with bucolic Devon. Rae shows the madness of cavalry attacking German soldiers armed with machine guns, then horrifically, the tanks that make the horses redundant.
Adrian Sutton’s cinematic soundtrack and folk singer John Tams’ ballads sung by Scottish singer Sally Swanson powerfully enhance the narrative. Rob Casey’s lighting design is not afraid to leave the stage in darkness after an explosion. Joey is captured by the Germans, cared for by Captain Müller (Alexander Bollinger) for most of the war, Morpurgo keen to show the Germans love horses as much as the British.
Don’t miss.