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Oct. 4, 2013
Puppetry unsurpassed
War Horse: simple story, imaginative staging.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
The horses are certainly the stars of War Horse. Not only are they stunningly beautiful, but the multiple puppeteers do an incredible job of bringing the cane, metal and mesh “beings” to life: the horses snort and whinny, their ears perk up and lay flat, they rear up on their hind legs, they appear to breathe. They alone are worth the price of admission.
Also impressive about this award-winning play that is currently touring North America – and which was in Vancouver Sept. 24-29 – are the visuals. Suspended above and across the stage is a white screen, made to look like part of a page torn from a notebook. The dates and locations of the story are projected onto it when the scenes change, as are the landscapes corresponding to the scenes, the weather (rain, snow, blowing clouds), the battles (bombs exploding, debris falling) and other images, which are accompanied by sound and lighting that bring the audience right into the action.
War Horse is an imaginative rendering of what is a very simple story. It starts in Devon, England, where we meet Albert, played by standout actor (and Jewish community member) Michael Wyatt Cox. It is August 1912 and times are tough, but Albert’s father, Ted (Gene Gillette), spends his family’s mortgage money on a horse (Joey) at auction, driven by an angry rivalry (of unknown origin and length) to outbid his brother, Arthur (Andrew Long). The rivalry has passed to the next generation, and Albert and his cousin, Billy, played by fellow Jewish community member David Hurwitz, show no great affection for each other.
A drunk and on the nasty, greedy side, Ted later makes a bet with Arthur that threatens to take Joey away from Albert, then Ted sells Joey to the cavalry without his family’s knowledge. Notwithstanding a close relationship with his mother, who is well played by Maria Elena Ramirez, Albert has no meaningful relationships, and so his bond with Joey is particularly important. When Joey is shipped to France, Albert, though only 16, enlists so that he can find Joey and bring him home.
Based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, and adapted by Nick Stafford, War Horse has a nice mix of sentiment, excitement and humor, the latter provided by some amusing one-liners, a couple of scenes in which people are trying to understand each other (English, French and German characters interact) and a persnickety goose puppet. While it is often hard to hear the actors – the main reason Cox and Ramirez stood out was because you could always hear what they were saying, while Gillette and Long’s words were most-often garbled, and those of other actors were sometimes drowned out by the sound effects – it is easy to follow the story, and the horses (Joey, Topthorn, Coco and Heine) and other Handspring Puppet Company creations are captivating. In addition, the choreography of movement for the horses and the actors, the music performed on stage by Spiff Wiegand (instrumental) and Megan Loomis (vocals), the animation and projection design, the lighting, all of it together makes War Horse an evening well spent. If it happens to be playing in a place you’re visiting, or if it returns to Vancouver, check it out.
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