War Horse star goes for a trot
A horse standing among the pillars of the Australian Memorial at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park was a bewildering sight to children and passers-by.
They watched as the life-sized horse made of aluminium, wicker and fabric was moved and manipulated by the three puppeteers who brought the star of War Horse to life.
Joey, the horse, paid a visit to Wellington yesterday before heading to Auckland where his story of courage, loyalty and friendship in the setting of World War I will be told on stage. He shook his mane, flicked his tail and sniffed at his strange surrounds before letting out a whinny and a snort.
Based on Michael Morpurgo’s novel, the National Theatre of Great Britain production of War Horse is about a young boy called Albert and his horse. They forge a friendship which grows into love, but when the war breaks out they’re split apart.
Albert, feeling like he can’t be without his best friend, signs up and goes to the war to look for Joey. The story follows their ‘‘epic’’ journey through the war, Joey’s head puppeteer, Shaun McKee, said. ‘‘Morpurgo says that it’s an anthem for peace.’’
But it takes more than the almost 43-kilogram South African-built structure to bring the horse to life: split into three sections, the puppeteers control the emotions and movements of Joey’s head, heart and hind.
McKee said it was his job to control the 7.7kg head with muscles he never knew he had. He works Joey’s eye-line, head height and ears.
‘‘You can tell a lot how a horse is feeling by how its ears are. If they’re forward, it means he’s quite relaxed, if they’re pricked back, it means he’s anxious, or alert, or possibly scared.’’
Heart puppeteer Michael Taibi moves Joey’s legs as though they hold the muscles to bear the weight of a 450kg horse.
Then there’s his breath. ‘‘If something isn’t breathing, then it’s not alive. Short and sharp, he might be anxious; slow and relaxed, he’s calm.’’
Joey’s hind, controlled by Derek Arnold, keeps everything in sync with emotion shown with a flick and twitch of his tail.
Nick Stafford’s adaptation of War Horse , directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, is in New Zealand for the first time from June 21 in Auckland. Tickets available from Ticketmaster.