War Horse, WWI as see through the eyes of a horse
Saw the brilliant, haunting play, War Horse, on Saturday night. It’s spell binding watching the story of the horrific First World War through a horse’s eyes. Joey and the other horses in the show are amazing creations by a puppet company with wooden frameworks and translucent fabric skins. You fall in love with Joey, he pricks up his ears, snorts, sneezes and flicks his tail. He feels his master’s pain and watches the terrible human suffering unfolding on the fields of France as 10 million men die.
hat I never knew was that 1 million horses were shipped over from England for the cavalry and just 62,000 returned. These poor creatures were maimed, blown up, caught on the barbed wire, and wounded by gunfire. It’s the animals who never get mentioned in our wars, either left behind to die or worked to death. The play really captures that deep, mysterious bond that can exist between humans and animals. I can’t stop thinking about it even 24 hours later, it’s the way the life size puppet horse senses the sadness and pain of the people close to him, and is the witness to the universal suffering of the 1914 War.
Horses are honoured in this play, as they should be. I am so pleased to have seen it.
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I have too seen the moving and emotionally exhausting War Horse. The horses, as Sharon mentions, are nothing shy of brilliant. The bound pieces of bamboo and hinges are utterly plausible, with the help of subtle and brilliant puppeteers of course.
However, another favourite theatre treat has been The Pitmen Painters, now at the National Theatre but was watched by me at the Live Theatre in Newcastle. Lee Hall (famed for Billy Elliot) draws the audience through the true story of mucky miners that moonlight as avant garde artists. You can’t compare the tales of War Horse and The Pitmen Painters but both leave you with an equally emotional experience that stays with you for quite some time.
War Horse does indeed capture the “deep and mysterious bond that can exist between humans and animals”, reminding us of what animals mean to people however Lee’s play too reminds us of something we may usually forget. What begins as a straightforward class battle comedy evolves into a play about art and what it means to people, about the power of self-expression. I definitely recommend both as a must watch.