Page 89 - All About History - Issue 26-15

Reviews

War Horse features life-
size horse puppets by the
Handspring Puppet Company
WAR HORSE

A triumph of literary adaptation
Author Michael Morpurgo & Nick
Stafford Production National Theatre

owinitseighthyear,theNationalTheatre’s
production of War Horse has been watched
by more than six million people worldwide
andisoneofthemostcriticallyacclaimed
N plays to have graced our stages. Based
on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse
followsthestoryofJoey–acoltwhoformsa
deepandmutualbondwithaboynamedAlbert.
WhenWorldWarIbreaksout,Joeyissoldtothe
cavalry, much to the devastation of the young boy. Particularly commendable is how well he has simply ingenious, and the puppeteers’ movements
Desperatetobereunited,Albertenlistsshortly added humour among the tragedy, be it through blend so seamlessly with those of the horses that it
after and embarks on a perilous journey that will Albert’s mother Rose, compassionately acted is almost as if they are one and the same. From a
takehimdeepintothebattlefieldsofFrance.Itisa byJayneMcKenna,orthroughtheaddition twitch of their ears or a swish of their tail, it is the
storyofloveandcourage,uniqueinthewaythatit of an audacious goose named Barbara. Adrian most minute details that really bring these puppets
conveys the universal suffering of war. Sutton’s musical score fits harmoniously with the to life, and they are a truly remarkable display of
Though certain elements of the narrative production, and is punctuated with devastatingly skill from all involved.
have been adapted or omitted for the stage, Nick beautiful folk songs poignantly performed by War Horse is a triumph of literary adaption, and
Stafford’s script maintains the backbone of the award-winning artist Ben Murray. one that we are sure will continue to grow in both
original story and adapts it in a way that respects As for the puppets, it’s easy to forget that they are number and support for years to come.
andreflectsthemessagesofMorpurgo’snovel. notliving,breathinganimals.Thecraftsmanshipis Alicea Francis

TESTAMENT OF YOUTH

The voice of a generation makes its big screen debut
Director James Kent Stars Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Emily Watson Released 25 May 2015
ased on the hugely to capturing the true horrors and futility of the There are some truly moving and emotional
influential World war and the men caught up in it, but this is never scenes – the image of a huge number of stretchers
War I memoir of quite given the focus it deserves. Like Vera, we are bearing the dead and wounded is a particularly
thesamename, torn away when we come close to experiencing the memorable example. However, the film seems to be
B Testament Of true pain and anger of such horrific events. There building up to a crescendo of sadness and pain that
Youth tells the story of seems to be a battle within the film itself between doesn’t quite come. Testament Of Youth is certainly
VeraBrittain,astrong- the beautiful photography, costumes and sense a touching tale, but it just falls short of being as
willed and independent of commemoration and the agony and misery it groundbreaking as its source material.
young woman who wishes to portray. Frances White
forgoesherdreamof
studying at Oxford to
becomeawarnurse.
TestamentOfYouth isaratherinsulartale–it
isthestoryofonewomanandonefamily,butat
thesametimeitspeaksforcountlesswomenand
families. Although events are somewhat rushed
throughinitially,itdoesagoodjobofsettingup
the ‘ordinary’ life that is destroyed when war
crashesintoit.Therearealsoseveralsubtlebut
effective performances, and Alicia Viklander gives a
captivatingperformanceintheleadrole.
While the film serves as a fitting and touching
introduction to anyone interested in finding out
more about Brittain, those who have read the © Alamy, Thinkstock
memoir may come away feeling underwhelmed. Vera Brittain was a nurse with
There are some stand-out scenes that come close the Voluntary Aid Detachment
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