This is a show I've always wanted to see but I've resisted as I didn't want to be disappointed. When my mother bought tickets for my grandmothers birthday however, I decided to tag along.
The National Theatre originally had this show on there own stage, however it has now moved to the New London Theatre. From the outside the advertisements for the show are massive, and it's a fairly new looking theatre compared to others in London, even the National Theatre. It's also a little bit out of the way compared to other theatres though the area is lovely. The theatre itself, once you got through the doors, feels very much like the National Theatre, even down to the semi-circular seating. Unlike the national theatre it doesn't seem particularly well suited to people with mobility issues. They do provide an escalator to the first level, however they fail to mention that after that there a a lot of steps for people to do, even if going to the stalls. One just assumes that now a days if there is a lift it would be well signposted and obvious. This isn't the case. I asked about a lift and I was told that you had to use one that actually was in the back stage area and led to the stage door. That was the only one available to us. This felt rather odd, as when I left with my grandmother we used the lift. As we were waiting for it to arrive we were being passed by actors who were trying to have showers and relax between the afternoon and evening show, some wearing very little. I jugs felt like I was intruding on what for an actor I would assume counts as a very private and personal space away from public. My grandmother loved it though as she got the congratulate the actors on their performances.
The actual auditorium itself is lovely, as I mentioned, and very much like the auditoriums at The National. The seating is very dark, a mixture of black and brown, which means when the lights go down the audience practically disappear and your attention can't helped but be drawn into the stage. The only annoying thing though was that I noticed the rustling of paper and sweet wrappers far more during this show than I have in any other. It took real strength for me to rise above saying something. My grandmother though did give a number of harsh looks at a few groups of people sat around us. A really good thing though is the price of the programme. The price, £4, isn't different to most shows, however the size of the programme is a lot bigger. I have got programmes this size before however the price is usually a lot more than £4.
This is a show I know very little about. I know pieces, of course I know about the puppets, but I know nothing gather than the basics about the story. I haven't even seen the film but I certainly intend to see it now. I know the plot involves a young boy who's horse is taken away from him as the army need it to help in France during WW1. That's it. I know nothing more than that. I think like most people, I went more to see the puppets and to see if they helped, or hindered, me being taken into the story. I'm glad to say that they didn't have a negative effect what so ever. My mother said she forgot about the puppeteers and in fact after a while she didn't even see the. I didn't quite get to that point, but the puppeteers certainly began to become a little less noticeable. The horses are fantastic and really add a new and interesting dimension to the show. Even me, who doesn't really get that emotional at shows/films was taken aback by the emotional aspects in the show that were so well portrayed and executed by the whole cast.
There are however two members of cast that I need to specifically mention. Jack Loxton, as Albert Narracott, and Sophie Crawford as the songperson/musician. Jack portrayed all the emotion brilliantly and you really could feel the love, hurt and pain that he was going throughout during the show. At times it was a little over the top but on the whole it felt real. Sophie has a sublime voice as I was always happy when she was singing. She was a great link between scenes and her songs were sublime. I will admit that the presence of a random person singing did at first confuse and slightly annoy me, but after a little bit I welcomed her presence.
If you haven't seen the show it's well worth seeing. Minot going to say it's the best show in London as it most defiantly not, but it's defiantly good. If your an emotional person go prepared to cry. At the interval it was like one big sniff rippling around the audience and the lifting of hands in unison to wipe away tears.
Other than London, there are currently productions in Berlin, Holland, South Africa and there are tours of the show going on in the UK and Ireland as well as North America. On the date I published this review, the North American tour will be ending in the 27 June and the UK/Ireland tour will be ending on the 14 February 2015). The following link takes you to the international sight for the show where you can select the production you wish to see. Tickets and Info
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