War Horse: A Review

-

War Horse is an adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel, adapted by Nick Stafford in 2007. It follows the friendship and separation of young Albert and his horse, Joey,  as they face the horrors of trench warfare in 1916. This grave backdrop is expertly contrasted with the previous idyllic countryside of pre-war England, using muddy soldier uniforms, dark lighting and literal barbed wire to encapsulate the danger of No Man’s Land. This contrast is further explored with the reappearance of traditional folk songs often played with instrument accompaniment by one actress.  It didn’t seem like she was directing her music to the audience though, more so to Albert, the protagonist, or even the horses. The whimsical, traditional folk lore mixed with the foreign, terrifying modernity of war served as a constant reminder of Devon, of what was missed and eventually, what was lost.

In representing the destruction of the English landscape, a huge watercolour projection overhangs the stage. The peaceful, swirling sketches of fields and trees are swapped for dramatic charcoal scrubbings and splotches of grenade explosions. 

If you don’t know already, the horses in War Horse are all puppets, driven and brought to life by actual puppeteers. They are built to scale, with elements of wood and rural materials paired with mechanical gears and metal embellishments. This beautiful partnership of the rural and urban perfectly reinforces the two lives of Albert and Joey, the humble farm workers turned brutal “killing machines”.

30th December 2024, New Theatre Oxford



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

-
Image
A Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams in 1947, follows two sisters as they reconnect and discover more about each other, in the landscape of an urban, post-war New Orleans. The young women, formidable Blanche Dubois and dutiful Stella Kowalski, live with Stella’s husband Stanley, often drunk and aggressive yet protective of his wife. Many other male characters reveal themselves throughout the play, particularly Mitch, who attempts to spark a romance with Blanche.  A main message of the play for me is the gender roles and expectations awarded to men and women. The actions that the men are allowed to indulge themselves in, drinking, gambling and sex, are admonished when performed by Blanche. This is apparent of the time period, as the early-to-mid 1900s are infamous for this kind of discrimination. However, Blanche is a powerhouse, whose mysterious backstory is one of sordid exploits and a degrading reputation. She is the subject of rumours, insults and assumptions,...
Read more

Nudity, Sex, Suicide: A Review of 'Never Land' by Phyllis Nagy

-
Image
Never Land, written by Phyllis Nagy in 1998, is set in a small town in France, following an ambitious yet heartbroken family through their dramas and tribulations. Henri’s desire, above all else, is to live and work in England, and we see him get closer and closer to the realisation of this dream, before it is plucked out of his fingers, sending him and the whole family into a downward spiral of depression and self-loathing. This is, of course, played in tandem to a socio-economic crisis that leaves the family in crippling debt and despair. At the same time, the daughter Elisabeth’s abusive fiancé, Michael, ends the relationship in a chaotic, full-blown speech, destroying Elisabeth and causing her already fragile emotions to crack and burst free from her heart in the overblown climax of the play. The text itself is simultaneously haunting and tumultuous, as a play about extreme heartbreak should be. But, Nagy does not play to your expectations. She completely removes all boundaries, de...
Read more

The Degradation of Audience Etiquette

-
Image
We all have a pet peeve, no matter how often we tell ourselves we don’t. Mine, like many other theatre-goers, is the increasing number of rude and inappropriate audience members we are having to share auditoriums with. Watching Matilda on the West End a few weeks ago, I noticed at least three people whip their phones out of their pocket, scroll on Snapchat, send a quick message or, God forbid, sneak a quick snap of the stage. Not to mention a couple having the most in depth, obtuse conversation possible bang in the middle of my eye line. I know I’m not alone in these experiences. So why is it these insensitive audiences seem to be getting more and more common? The first possibility is, and excuse me whilst I sound like your old uncle at Christmas, those damn phones. TikTok and YouTube have become a breeding ground for illegal filming of these shows, many reaching hundreds of thousands of views. Wicked seems to be a particular favourite of these bootleg creators, one playlist of which g...
Read more