War Horse – Milton Keynes Theatre

Writer: Michael Morpurgo

Adaptor: Nick Stafford

Director: Tom Morris and Katie Henry

War Horse is a National Theatre production based on the book of the same name by Michael Morpurgo. It features life-sized puppets to bring the story to life, engineered by the incomparable Handspring Puppet Company, the production creates a visually stunning and emotionally powerful experience for the audience.

The story centres around a horse named Joey and his journey through World War I, showcasing themes of friendship, loyalty, and bravery. The stage show departs somewhat from the narrative of the book, omitting some of the convoluted twists and turns to offer a more succinct and rounded narrative centred purely around Albert (Tom Sturgess) and his horse.

Without offering any spoilers, War Horse offers many beautiful moments of theatrical mastery that will captivate audiences of all ages and leave a lasting impression. The puppeteers of Joey (Tom Quinn, Lewis McBean, and Michael Larcombe) and Topthorn (Matthew Lawrence, Chris Milford, and Felicity Donnelly) use the three pillars of puppetry—focus, breath, and gravity—to seamlessly blend into the action with a kind of visible invisibility that is unique to this show. They move with such grace and artistry that the audience quickly forgets they are watching puppets, becoming fully immersed in Joey’s emotional journey. The onstage connection between Sturgess and the puppet is captivating. Sturgess is delightfully juvenile in his performance, perfectly capturing the purity of Albert’s love for Joey whilst also embodying the angsty teen who lies to the army to follow his horse into war.

The innovative lighting design by Rob Casey further enhances the atmosphere, making War Horse a truly unforgettable experience. With a single piece of projection screen running constant animation to support the action of the show, Casey’s design plays with shadow as much as it does with light. This allows for characters to pop in and out of the action as if by magic and for the production to evoke the chaos and beauty of war with remarkable authenticity.

There are many standout moments where Casey’s design lifts the piece, from adult Joey’s first reveal in the glow of warm golden light, to the remarkably beautiful silhouetting of the trenches. Set against the eerie, sharp white light and haze upstage, the soldiers appear only as a shadow, indistinct and unidentifiable as they advance on the audience. This scene is visually impeccable, evocative as it draws upon the remembrance day marketing that we all recognise with the blackened outline of a WW1 soldier. Tom Morris, in his decision to darken the ‘over the top’ sequence has brought history to life in the most heartbreaking way. It is disorientating to not see the faces of the actors but to audibly hear the conversations as they climb from the trenches. We all recognise the rousing marching songs, such as Goodbye Dolly Gray as distinctly military. Of course, our own experience is of the pomp and ceremony of various state occasions, with lines of soldiers in stunning red livery parading down the Mall, with full brass band accompaniment. To subvert this piece of music and use it acapella over silence, in the shadows as a means of battle cry, as these young boys march to fate is like a sucker punch to the audience. Visually stunning, yet utterly heart-wrenching.

The use of traditional hymns and genuine war songs from the era further enhances the experience as it flips from the beautifully haunting lilting of Sally Swanson to the rich choral harmonies from the whole cast in the more climactic moments. A particularly beguiling piece that appears as a motif throughout is the song Only Remembered. Its words are poignant, its melody enchanting, and as such it hangs in the air within the auditorium, leaving the audience with a sense of bittersweet nostalgia long after the final curtain call.

World War I is a moment in history that sits within our collective memory, albeit through second-hand experience such as school study and storytelling. Morpurgo’s source material is beautifully accessible in the way that it brings the concept of war into its narrative as secondary to the horse’s experience. It brings history to life in a softer, more consumable way whilst still accepting the horror of war. This theatrical adaptation has been faithful to its source whilst bringing the gravity of war to the stage. There are some moments with pyrotechnics that may be frightening to young audiences, and some heavy themes later in the play, so discretion is advised to audience members with young children. The production suggests that those aged 10 and above might be best suited to this play.

War Horse is a testament to the power of theatre to transport audiences to another time and place, to evoke deep emotions, and to inspire a sense of awe and wonder. This is a beautifully wholesome show that has family values at its heart, Tom Morris has led a show that is as close to perfection as a play can be. National Theatre is typically a stamp of quality, and War Horse is a testament to the magic that can be created when all of the artistic and technical elements of production come together at the right time.

War Horse is a theatrical triumph!

Runs until 3 May 2025 and on tour