Cranford Review 2019

War Horse at The National Theatre
In
December 2018 we were fortunate to secure 60 tickets to
take year 9 students to see “War Horse” at the National
Theatre. As an introduction to the production we were delighted to
welcome to Cranford the lead actor, Tom Dennis who played Albert
the central character who at the age of 16 joins the fighting in the
trenches during World War 1 to save his beloved horse, Joey. Tom talked about what it was like to work as
an actor, to play this role and about the challenges of the production. The students found him very engaging
and it helped prepare them for the production. What they found most fascinating was the mechanics of the
puppetry and the challenges of making the puppets feel real and believable. This production was also used
as a starting point for the year 9 puppet project in Creative Arts.
Jessica Joyce (Creative Arts)
Thomas Dennis
as “Albert”
War Horse Review
This
show was a spectacular,
tear-jerking performance which
captured the hearts of the entire audience, leaving
us speechless throughout the show. The story gives
an enchanting insight into the lives of the soldiers
during the First World War, reminding us of their
humanity as these people were not just machines
sent to kill, but people with stories and families. It
is often important to reflect upon and remember the
lives of people during wars and the sacrifices they
made during them for the greater good. Our school
got to receive the privilege of meeting Thomas
Dennis who plays the main character Albert which
was an amazing experience as we got to understand
the effort and hard work that was put into this play,
and the process of being in a professional theatre
production.
The way that the story was presented is very
interesting and unique as all of the animals in
the production were portrayed as puppets which
were run by puppet masters who were deliberately
exposed, showing the attention to detail within
the show and the hard work put in by the people
directing the puppets. I think this technique was
very intriguing and unique and made the animals
seem real in a way that you could not imagine.
There was so much detail within the puppets that
the people directing them never stopped working
throughout the entire play. Even at points where
the horse wasn’t doing anything, you could still
see it breathing or slightly shaking its head which
I think is one of the many factors that played into
this production being so spectacular.
Overall, War Horse is magnificent and honestly
one of the most spectacular productions I have ever
seen- from the characterisations of the animals,
to the music and repetitive song sung throughout
multiple scenes. This show is an ensemble of
brilliance which I highly recommend everybody
to see. One of my favourite scenes throughout the
play was when Albert and his best friend as well
as other soldiers were trying to go through a battle
and singing as they were dropping dead one by
one. This scene was so powerful that I know I, and
many others were brought to tears. The love and
care that the main character Albert showed for his
horse Joey in the play was portrayed so thoughtfully
and powerfully that at the end when the characters
reunited, it honestly felt like it was a real story and
the characters were real people with feelings which
was why that scene was so beautiful and exciting
to see. This entire play was a surreal, remarkable
experience that I and others will remember forever.
Aja Cundall (year 9)
29