“War Horse is a huge piece of ensemble storytelling. That’s not just the cast, that’s the entire company and the sheer endeavour of it.
“The puppetry is astonishing but the thing about this play is that it’s a huge company effort and in my experience, and what I love both as an actor and as a creative.
“It’s so massive and I’m really passionate about that. It’s the culmination of all my experiences that I feel sit well with this new and exciting role that I’m taking on as Puppetry Director.”
So speaks Gareth Aled, who first started with the play in 2013 when he puppeted the heads of Joey and Topthorn in the West End.
And yet he never underestimates the specific challenges of this play. “You’re going to work harder on stage than you ever have done before. It’s all about facilitating curiosity because the reason the play continues to work is that no-one ever rests on their laurels. You never reach perfection; it’s a constant striving to make it as detailed as possible and that’s a challenge, and a real pleasure and a joy.
it’s not Pixar or Disney
Around 24 puppets are used in the show with an amazing puppet tech department working alongside them to maintain the puppets so that the animal puppets are believable animals on stage.
For those who haven’t seen War Horse, Nick Stafford’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s is a remarkable story of courage, loyalty and friendship, featuring a young boy called Albert and his horse Joey, set against the backdrop of the First World War.
It is the most successful play in the National Theatre’s history and uses ground-breaking puppetry work to bring breathing, galloping horses to life on stage.
Scott Miller who plays the lead role Albert, says: “It’s about a boy called Albert and his dad, who buys a horse in a bet. The first act is about Albert and the horse Joey becoming really good friends and growing up together. That’s the theme that runs through the first act – Albert and Joey’s journey to becoming a man and a fully-grown horse respectively.
“Then the First World War breaks out, Joey gets taken away and Albert goes off to war to find him. That’s how I’d sum it up without giving too much away.
War Horse has been seen by over seven million people worldwide, completed a record-breaking eight year London run, has won 25 awards including the Tony Award for Best Play on Broadway, has been seen in 97 cities in 10 countries and last played at the New Theatre at Christmas 2017 to sell out audiences.
So why does Scott think it resonates so strongly with audiences? “Because it doesn’t glorify war and it doesn’t romanticise it. It’s basically a love story between a boy and his horse, as if there’s an elastic band connecting Joey and Albert throughout the play. At the start it’s quite close together, it’s not pulled apart, but as the play goes on it’s stretched and stretched and stretched. The audience goes on that journey; they’re getting pulled along.
How does it feel to be the lead in such an iconic production? “I feel really lucky to be part of it. It’s my first theatre job outside of drama school so it’s a really big one to get. Working with so many amazing people and so many talented individuals, I’m learning a lot from them. It’s a real privilege and an honour.
“It’s nerve-wracking in the sense of getting butterflies and stuff but I don’t feel overwhelmed or out of my depth and I think that’s down to the team we work with. We’re all very supportive of each other and also I feel very comfortable in the part and really connected to it.
And the challenges? “It’s a very physical show. It’s very rewarding, but all the characters and animals go through such a journey, its demanding on the actors who play them. I also have to do a running jump onto the horse, which always takes that extra bit of adrenaline to get you up there. Emotionally, again without giving away too much about the plot, Albert almost gives up hope of ever finding Joey again and he’s a broken man towards the end of the play. He goes from being a young boy to a broken man and then… [laughs] well, I won’t spoil things by saying anything more.”
“No, it’s not Pixar or Disney,” Gareth adds. These aren’t anthropomorphised animals, they’re behaving like real animals and we’ve got lots of puppets to help us communicate that style and that language.”
War Horse, the unforgettable theatrical event based on hisbeloved novel, will return to Oxford, to the New Theatre Oxford from Wednesday, August 21 – Saturday, September 7.
Tickets at 0844 871 3020or by visiting our website at www.atgtickets.com/oxford
