War Horse gallops triumphantly back to the National Theatre
War Horse | National Theatre (Olivier) | ★★★★☆
This month has seen the revival of two classic equine plays, one about a young lad who is in love with a horse in a good way (War Horse) and one about a young lad who is in love with a horse in a very, very bad way (Equus). I wonder how many people got mixed up and booked tickets to the wrong one, and what they thought when the protagonist blinded the kindly horse instead of rescuing it (interestingly, War Horse and the Daniel Radcliffe version of Equus both debuted in 2007 – the plays clearly share some psychic link).
In the 15 years since it first galloped onto the vast Olivier stage, War Horse has escaped the paddock and become an icon of British theatre, even appearing atop the National Theatre to rear upon his hind legs in salute to the Queen as she celebrated her Platinum Jubilee. I didn’t see the original run but I feel like I’ve seen the original run. I can picture the movement of the horse, the way his articulated legs hoof the ground, the swivel of its vast haunches, the flowing tassels of his mane.
Now it’s back with an all-new cast but that same incredible horse. Watching it – him – up close, you can see why he’s such an enduring creation: Joey is magnificent, a puppet that doesn’t attempt to hide the three humans controlling him yet utterly convinces you that he is indeed a horse, with his equine ticks and swishing tail and adorable ears that prick up when something piques his interest.
A perfect cast for War Horse 2026
His relationship with a young Devonian farm boy (played with a guileless warmth by Tom Sturgess) is War Horse’s beating heart, a bond so innocent and pure that you can forgive the moments when the play plucks – sometimes mercilessly – at your heartstrings.
It begins with an auction: a foal is sold for a vastly inflated price to a drunken farmer. He’s raised by the farmer’s son, Albert, until the outbreak of the first world war, when he’s flogged to the army to be an officer’s horse.
It’s a time when patriotism is rife and everyone is convinced Our Boys will all be “home by Christmas”. It soon becomes clear, however, that this is unlike any war before it. Sixteen-year-old Albert signs up in a bid to find Joey somewhere in the bloody fields of France, experiencing firsthand the unspeakable horrors of war, reenacted in terrifying fashion through a combination of puppetry, projections, and brilliant use of sound and lighting.
Based on the classic 1982 children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse has a simple message delivered with the grace of a classic Disney movie. It’s about the importance of human connection and the evils of war, themes that are as relevant as ever in a world once again dominated by so-called “strong-men”. But most of all it’s a vehicle for that magnificent horse, which has lost none of its power or charm after all these years.