Reviewed by Chloe at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall
Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review
This new staged production of War Horse directed by Tom Morris with revival director Katie Henry is amazing. From the very beginning you get connected to the young foal. You then follow the beautiful connection that Albert (played by Tom Sturgess) and Joey make. In this production, Tom Sturgess doesa particularly good job at portraying Albert. You follow him through his laughter and see where he is comfortable and the contrast in him when he is at war. You can see how the war changed him, and you felt for his character, just wishing he would get back home safely. Karl Haynes who plays Arthur Narracott (Albert’s dad) has such a difficult job of portraying his character, but he took on this role incredibly well. He is seen as the bad guy so has no one on his side, but in reality he is trying to do his best but keeps making mistakes.
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| Tom Sturgess (Albert Narracott), Matthew Lawrence, Rafe Young, Felicity Donnelly (Joey) and cast in War Horse. Credit Brinkhoff-Moegenburg. |
The set for this production is completely stripped back, with minimal props used multiple times. There was also an animated backdrop that told you dates and had pictures to resemble where the scenes were set.
The puppets used to create the animals were incredible. Every single person involved with the horse puppets were so in-sync. They were choreographed tightly, and everything was in perfect time, even down to the breathing of the horse. It was so amazing to watch as it’s so lifelike and you forget there are humans inside. As well as this, when the other war horse come on stage, from the beginning you can see the two different personalities of the horses just from the way they walk around the stage. This is incredible to watch and is amazing to see how the actors make the puppets seem so different.
The play does get very emotional, especially as it gets into the second half. There was a clear shift in the language used to show the darkness and the pain that life had turned into. Within the sadder times, they did add in times of humour. For example, whenever they tried to go into their farmhouse, a goose would always run at the door trying to get in. This added some nice comedic relief. This also loops in a circle as the goose gets the final bow to make the audience laugh and go home with a positive feeling from the show.
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| The cast of War Horse. Credit Brinkhoff-Moegenburg. |
The soundscape added to this play a great deal. Whenever there was narration going on, it was done through a folk song. In times of war, the music was dramatic and loud so much that you could feel the vibrations coursing through you. It made you feel the story so much more, adding a sense of realism, aided by the lighting effects. These were used to wonderful effect to make seamless scene transitions such as when the little joey grew up - there was a flash and suddenly on stage stood the magnificent massive puppet.
If you are looking for a moving piece of theatre that really touches your emotions, then this show is for you. It is so captivating, and the cast all took on this play well.
I would definitely recommend.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
War Horse plays at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall until Sunday 18th May 2025. Tickets are available from https://trch.co.uk/whats-on/war-horse/
The production continues on tour throughout 2025. Visit https://www.warhorseonstage.com/ for full tour dates and venues.
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| The cast of War Horse. Credit Brinkhoff-Moegenburg. |
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