"War Horse" is the most commercially successful show in the National Theatre's history. A hit with critics and lay audiences alike, the show is in a sold out extended run. It is an adaptation of the Michael Morpurgo children's book by the same name. A story about a teenager whose beloved horse is sent off to the battlefields of WWI. Desperate to be with his horse, the boy joins the army so that me might search for the horse.
The horses in the play are created and operated by Handspring Puppet Company from South Africa. They are each maniulated by three puppeteers, two who are inside the body of the horse and one who manipulates its head. My favorite thing about puppetry is how transparent it makes the artifice of theater but how it still pulls you in emotionally. One can somehow be in the moment and still be aware that you're watching something that isn't real. The horse puppets look angry, afraid, and loving at different times. That puppet makers and puppeteers can make these contraptions resemble something with emotions is remarkable.
For me, though, the puppets were the only remarkable thing about the show. The story is what you might expect from a children's book -- a bit implausable and too much heroism. The boy loves his horse too much and that he risks his life to go find him is more than we should have to take. Still, the beauty of the puppetry makes it all worthwhile.
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