Now in its fourth year in the West End, Nick Stafford’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s book has been playing to sell-out houses at the New London Theatre since March 2009.  The Broadway production of War Horse, which continues its run at the Lincoln Center’s Vivien Beaumont Theatre, was the winner of six Tony Awards including a Special Tony Award for Handspring Puppet Company.  Last month War Horse opened to great critical acclaim at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto.  War Horse premiered at the National Theatre in October 2007.  
 
A further production of War Horse is due to open in December 2012 at the Melbourne Arts Centre's State Theatre, Australia, with a US tour scheduled to start in Los Angeles in June 2012.  A further production will embark on a UK tour in Autumn 2013. The exhibition, War Horse:  Fact and Fiction, continues at the National Army Museum until August this year.  Stephen Spielberg’s Oscar nominated film version of War Horse opened in UK in January 2012.
 
At the outbreak of World War One, Joey, young Albert’s beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France.  He’s soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man’s land.  But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find him and bring him home.
 
The cast comprises Alex Avery (Captain Nicholls), Joshua Blake (John Greig), Pascale Burgess (Paulette), Richard Cant (Priest / Friedrich Muller), Sam Clark (Joey Hind), Kate Colebrook (Baby Joey / Emilie), Emily Cooper (Joey/Topthorn Hind / Goose), Matt Costain (Topthorn Hind / Goose), Ewen Cummins (Chapman Carter / Col. Strauss / Soldat Schmidtt), Danny Dalton (David Taylor), Matthew Forbes (Joey Head), Bob Fox (Songman), Thomas Goodridge (Joey/Topthorn Hind), Owain Gwynn (Joey/Topthorn Heart), Jack Holden (Albert Narracott), Robert Horwell (Arthur Narracott / Sgt Thunder), Christian Jenner (Dr Schweyk / Heine / Sgt Fine), Luke Jerdy (Billy Narracott / Coco / Ludwig), Curtis Jordan (Joey/Topthorn Head / Goose), Louise Kempton (Annie Gilbert), Dominic Leeder (Topthorn Heart), Henry Maynard (Topthorn Head), Shaun McKee (Joey/Topthorn Heart / Geordie), Steve Nicolson (Ted Narracott), Christopher Patrick Nolan (Gefreiter Karl / Vet Martin), Jack Parker (Topthorn Head), Malcolm Ridley (Sgt Allan / Soldat Manfred), Mat Ruttle (Bone / Heine), William Rycroft (Captain Stewart / Rudi), Rachel Sanders (Rose Narracott), Eliot Short (Klebb / Fiddler), Meghan Treadway (Baby Joey), John Trindle (Baby Joey), Adam Welsh (Johann Schnabel / Sentry Shaw) and Tom Wilton (Joey Heart).
 
Directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, War Horse is designed by Rae Smith, with puppet design and fabrication by Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler for Handspring Puppet Company, lighting by Paule Constable, and movement and horse choreography by Toby Sedgwick; the puppetry directors are Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler, with video design by Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer, songmaker John Tams, music by Adrian Sutton and sound by Christopher Shutt.
 
War Horse is produced in the West End by the National Theatre and National Angels.

Book War Horse tickets online now.

[posted 23/03/202]

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