The Show, July 23, 2012

Albert Narracott (Alex Furber) and Joey as a foal (Patrick Kwok-Choon, Rahnuma Panthaky, Mairi Babb). Original Canadian Cast 2012. Photo by Brinkhoff / Mögenburg

[Publisher's Note: Today we are beginning a new weekly feature on The Charlebois Post - Toronto. Each week we will tell you about a single production that is playing in the city, is in previews, or is about to open that you should have a look at. Enjoy The Show.]

War Horse
There is an hilarious story that prior to War Horse's opening at the National Theatre in London, the powers at the company were convinced that the production was going to lose them millions. How wrong they were. Michael Morpurgo's little children's novel that could went onto be a world-wide phenomenon, winning awards in Great Britain, New York and, this year, at the Dora Awards here.


If you have seen a single picture of the production, you know that it captures the imagination. Simply put: the star(s) of the piece are the puppets created by Handspring. But the acting beyond the gorgeous creatures is not incidental. The full impact of the show - which has hardened adult men in the audience blubbering - requires a gentle tango between the machines and the humans.

War Horse has not only marked the theatre around the world, it has impacted on people who have never been inside a theatre and who are discovering for the first time what a play can do. That's quite an achievement for a work that was expected to lose millions.

Read our review
Read an interview with one of the puppeteers in Toronto, Patrick Kwok-Choon
Listen to episode 29 of This Is The CPC, our podcast, to hear CPT Associate Editor talk of the book.
See a thrilling promo video for the production.
Buy tickets.