War Horse, Mayflower Theatre Southampton Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Amy Dixon
What an amazingly atmospheric, immersive, heart breaking, tearjerker of a show. I was so very excited to be given the opportunity to review the National Theatres production of War Horse at the Mayflower in Southampton. Both my friend and I had read the book written by Michael Morpurgo and seen the film but had not watched the live theatre production and it was phenomenal.
The main protagonist is Joey the ‘horse’ and the story follows the different pathways taken during World War 1 and the hazardous journey back to his beloved owner Albert a 16-year-old farm lad.
The show begins with Joey as a foal with 3 puppeteers controlling the movements, these were Head – Eloise Beaumont-Wood, Heart – Diany Bandza and Hind – Jordan Paris.
The older Joey was controlled by the following puppeteers: Head – Rianna Ash, Heart – Chris Milford and Hind – Tommy Goodridge.
The puppetry was outstanding with movements that felt so life like, you felt connected to them as real horses. The movements were so realistic from bowing and raising on hind quarters to galloping with a rider on their backs. The synchronisation and co-ordination of the puppeteers was so slick you could almost forget that the adult horses were being controlled by three puppeteers at once.
The 2nd main horse was Topthorn, again controlled by 3 puppeteers: Head – Tea Poldervaart, Heart – Robin Hayward and Hind – Gun Suen. A striking puppet, especially shown in their battle scenes, they actually felt like they were galloping across the battlefields.
Watch out for the comedic Goose, lightening the tone in what felt a very emotive story.
We were amazed at how close the cast got to the audience especially during the tank scene, it was truly immersive, and I would definitely look at getting front row seats to be right in the action, although I feel I would probably end up ducking out of the way of the tanks.
The scenery was minimal, with a black background and stage and an interactive screen showing the changing landscape as the backdrop for each scene. The cast also holding props to indicate changes in scenes, such as the fences on fields, the auctions and no-man’s land. This I feel did not limit the experience but in fact enabled you to be focused on the characters and the movements of the cast and puppetry.
Although not a musical, the songs used thought the show set the scene and enabled you to be drawn into the emotions of the characters and the horse’s story. With the cast joining in with many songs, this set the ambiance of each scene, some more harrowing than others. Sally Swanson as the Singer’s voice was beautiful and powerful, yet also not overshadowing what was being performed on stage.
Although the story depicts, horrific times during World War 1, the show is not depressive due to the focus on the horses and the characters relationships with them.
We both walked away in awe of what we had experienced, I haven’t seen anything quite like it before and I absolutely would watch again.
Rating: 5/5
War Horse is at Southampton Mayflower Theatre from 9-19 October 2024. Tickets cost from £27.
For more information or to book tickets https://www.mayflower.org.uk/whats-on/war-horse-2024/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlNi4kJiBiQMVYqaDBx1AihxXEAAYASAAEgIllPD_BwE