![]() ![]()
“If something is breathing, we can convince you of life, and the rhythm of that breath suggests how that being is feeling,” says Gareth Aled, the touring production’s resident puppetry director. Not only do they operate the physical component, the puppeteers create all the horse noises themselves – which is rather appropriate when you consider that a horse’s lung capacity is about the same as three humans’. #Warhorse puppetry fullBut this is no ordinary panto horse: when at full flight, the 30-kilogram, life-sized contraption is an imposing force, galloping across the stage. The puppet that represents Joey is operated by three puppeteers each night: one at the head, one at the heart, and one at the hind. “Because the audience has to put as much investment as we do on stage in believing the horse is real, I think they get quite a magical experience when, after a while, they forget that the puppeteers are there,” says Jo Castleton, who plays Rose Narracott in the international touring version coming to Australia. #Warhorse puppetry movieIt was turned into a successful movie by Stephen Spielberg in 2011, but the real horse who played Joey in the film couldn’t quite compete with the emotional tug of the puppet version, designed by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company. It’s been a massively successful endeavour: the National Theatre’s 2007 staging is one of the most profitable productions of a play ever, playing long London and New York seasons and touring the world. Over two and a half hours, the play follows Joey’s journey from a peaceful existence in rural England with his young owner, Albert, to the darkest and most violent corners of Europe at the height of World War I. In War Horse, the National Theatre of Great Britain’s globe-conquering adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s novel, a devoted group of actors ask audiences every night to believe that a cane frame covered in stretched fabric is a real-life horse called Joey, the protagonist of the play. It’s called the “suspension of disbelief”, and it can be especially powerful when artists invite their audience to invest in an idea that really stretches their imaginative power. #Warhorse puppetry how toFind out about tour dates and how to book tickets online through the official War Horse on Stage website.There’s a certain kind of magic that happens in theatre when an audience chooses to believe in something they cognitively understand isn’t real. “War Horse” has been the Theatre of Great Britain’s most successful show yet. Even though the horse characters have no voice, they play a very important role in this play, which honors the important role that war horses played in World War One. Between the three puppeteers, the war horses can run, stamp, snort, wiggle their ears and nod their heads in a manner that closely mimics the movements of a living horse. #Warhorse puppetry seriesA series of poles, levers and pulleys allows the puppeteers to animate the puppet, and their voices literally breathe life into the animal puppet. Two puppeteers stand inside the horse puppet while the third stands to one side of the head. The puppeteer positions are called the Hind, the Head and the Heart. Their company, Handspring Puppets, made all of the animal puppets for “War Horse”, including a wheel-based goose puppet that is now affectionately referred to as the “war goose.” The large, life-sized horse puppets are controlled by three men. ![]() South African puppet makers Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones and Thys Stander created the animal puppets in a warehouse in Cape Town, South Africa. What makes the “War Horse” stage play so appealing are the animal puppets. What sets this play apart from many others is not the skill of the human actors, the props, story or costumes. ![]() ![]() Man and animal are reunited in a moving scene that proves that love cannot be destroyed by war. After years of bloody battle and disease, Albert sets off in search of Joey. His human companion, Albert Narracott, also joins the army but is sent to a different battle front. The story follows an English farm horse called Joey, who is sold to the cavalry in World War I. The story is based on the popular 1982 book “War Horse”, written by Michael Morpurgo. The play “War Horse” is a theatrical production that combines human actors, stage effects and life-size animal puppets. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |