Unlike the rows of blazered school children who lined the Mayflower Theatre last night, I haven’t read War Horse. I’d heard all about the show from its London residency and heard that it was phenomenal. So as I walked to the theatre I told my husband who was accompanying me “well, it’s guaranteed not to be terrible” – dampening our expectations given the incredible reviews, just in case. As we took our seats the vibe inside the Mayflower Theatre was lively and excited; everyone was excitedly awaiting something momentus.
War Horse was not only “not terrible”, it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. When the foal Joey came emerging from the dark, a low murmur of oohs and ahhs broke out like when a celebrity is a member of a cast and they first come on stage. The dark, by the way, was one of the most impactful theatrical assets of this production – with characters truly emerging and vanishing seamlessly without any of that slightly embarrassing on-stage trotting off to make it to the wings. The lighting design was incredible and demonstrated that Southampton wasn’t receiving a paired-back version of the London hit.
The acting was brilliant across the board, but Tom Sturgess – our lead – was particularly excellent. Usually, when watching a good actor, you don’t think “wow they’re doing some acting” – they’re so natural it doesn’t break the illusion. But Sturgess went beyond that. I reminded myself on a couple of occasions throughout the performance “God, he’s acting” - his character was so sympathetic and watchable that you became aware once again that this is a (masterful) act.
War Horse is excellent for all the reasons you’ll have heard about: the puppets are spellbinding (people audibly gasped when Sturgess first jumped to ride on Joey, and the first ploughing scene was genuinely one of the tensest things I have ever watched), and it is a genuinely touching depiction of World War One (especially in comparison to the Hollywood-ified movies which came out relentlessly during the centenary). But what moved me most about War Horse was that it was a love letter to pastoral England, led beautifully by Sally Swanson’s Singer. The early scenes of this play felt like nourishment for the soul, and by the time the curtain fell on Act 1 you were left thinking about who has come before you to make you who you are. War Horse isn’t just wonderful, it’s important.
Verity Babbs is the host of Voice FM's 'Arts & Culture Show' on Wednesdays at 2PM
www.veritybabbs.com
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