War Horse

Tom Sturgess gives a fully rounded performance as innocent and naïve Albert training Joey, to the young man he becomes in the battlefields. The performance perfectly encapsulates the love humans have with their animals and the irreplaceable bond between the two. Sturgess’ emotional connection with the horse and audience grew throughout the performance until it reached its climax with several audience members in floods of tears. The ensemble of cast members who multi role at times give a convincing account of the traumatic sense of what the war would have been like. Harrowing yet leaving you in a sense of disbelief.

Staging and the overall design of the production (Rae Smith) is purposefully dark throughout capturing the stirring feeling of the war. Whilst the staging is minimalist this allows our entire focus to be on the compelling story and convincing storytelling being told on stage. Bright bursts of light are used effectively, particularly within the transition of Joey becoming a fully grown horse. Lighting design by Rob Casey, together with video design (Nicol Scott and Ben Pearcy) are seamless and coherent with one another creating layers of depth within the sparsely decorated space.