War Horse

We saw the play War Horse this week, it was pretty incredible!  If you aren't familiar, it's a story about a boy and his horse.  His horse is sold to the army in WWI and goes to war with an officer, and the boy later joins the war to look for his horse after he hears the officer has been killed.  The play highlights the realities of war, both animal and human.

It's a good story, but the most amazing part are the animals on stage.  They aren't real horses, but large puppets constructed of wood and fabric.  A team of puppeteers accompanies them at all times, around and even inside the horses, moving their ears, bodies, and tails with lifelike precision.  Even making horse sounds!  After a while, the people around the puppet disappear and all you really notice is the horse.  It's amazing what emotions a puppet can evoke!  Think a puppet can't make you cry?  Think again.

Two of the horses ("Joey", the titular War Horse is on the right):

They can even be ridden:

War Horse the movie, directed by Steven Spielberg, is coming out this Christmas:

Watching this play made me think of the Animals in War Memorial here in London; it is dedicated to the animals that have served alongside troops in war and I have always loved passing by it.  It's a bit of a tear jerker, on one side is the quote "They had no choice."  

War has all different kinds of casualties, and I think it's nice to pay tribute to the animals who truly had no choice.  

War Horse just won 5 Tonys this year for its NYC show, if you have the chance to see it I highly recommend it!