''War Horse'' is a play based on the book of the same name by writer

Michael Morpurgo Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo ('' né'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as ''War Horse'' (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytell ...

, adapted for stage by

Nick Stafford Nick Stafford (born Nicholas Thomas, 1959 in Staffordshire) is a British playwright and writer. He is best known for writing War Horse (play), the stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel ''War Horse (novel), War Horse'', which garnered him a ...

. Originally Morpurgo thought "they must be mad" to try to make a play from his best-selling 1982 novel; but the play was a great success. The play's West End and Broadway productions are directed by

Marianne Elliott Marianne Phoebe Elliott (born 27 December 1966) is a British theatre director and producer who works on the West End and Broadway. She has received numerous accolades including three Laurence Olivier Awards and four Tony Awards. Initially ...

and Tom Morris; it features life-size horse puppets by the

Handspring Puppet Company The Handspring Puppet Company is a puppetry performance and design company established in 1981 by Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones, Jon Weinberg and Jill Joubert. It is based in Cape Town, South Africa. History Jones and Kohler met at the Michael ...

of South Africa, the movements of which were choreographed by

Toby Sedgwick Toby Sedgwick (born 16 August 1958) is a British movement director, actor and theatre choreographer. He achieved critical acclaim for his expressive " horse choreography" for life-size puppets used in ''War Horse'' (2007), which played at West ...

Synopsis

A foal is auctioned for sale in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Hoping to give it to his son Ned, Arthur Narracott bids on the foal; instead, his brother Ted competes with him and bids 39 guineas—an exorbitant amount that Arthur can't meet - and wins the foal. Ted is the local drunkard and thought to be a coward, for refusing to have fought together with his brother in the earlier

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

in South Africa. At the auction, Ted used money reserved to pay his farm mortgage. Ted's wife Rose fears they will lose their farm. Their son Albert promises to raise the foal and train him for sale. The boy names the foal Joey, and forms a strong bond with the horse during training. Jealous of his cousin Albert, Ned convinces his father to get Ted drunk and make a bet: if Joey (bred and trained as a hunter, not a plough horse) can be taught to plough within a week, Arthur will pay Ted 39 guineas, the auction price. If Joey won't plough, Ned gets the horse. Albert successfully teaches Joey to pull the plough and gets to keep him. News of the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

reaches Devon. When Ted sells Joey to the cavalry, Albert is crushed. Captain James Nicholls, who often sketched Albert riding the hunter, promises that he will personally look after the fine horse. At the same time, Arthur enlists Ned to fight despite his protests. Arthur gives Ned his grandfather's knife for protection. Joey and Topthorn (another army horse) are shipped to France. The charges of the British cavalry are overwhelmed by the fire from German machine guns, representing their new technology. During the first charge, Nicholls is shot and killed. Ned is assigned to ride Joey into battle and is captured by German troops. War Horse (8570050209)

Nicholls's sketchbook is sent to Albert, who learns Joey is serving "unprotected" in France. He lies about his age, enlists in the army and goes to France. There he befriends Private David Taylor, a fellow soldier. The Germans have taken Ned to a French farm being used as a makeshift hospital. He is killed brandishing his knife. Emilie, the girl of the farm family, is nearly killed in the altercation. German officer Friedrich Muller is reminded of his own daughter left in Germany. He and Emilie share a love of horses and, with Emilie's mother, they take care of the horses Joey and Topthorn, which are being kept to pull an ambulance for wounded soldiers. When a shell kills most of his comrades, Friedrich switches his coat and identity with an enlisted medic, hoping to survive to return home. His subterfuge is discovered but Friedrich enables Emilie and her mother to escape. When the Germans force the two fine horses to work as

draft horse A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less oft ...

s, Joey inspires Topthorn to pull in order to survive. Once enemies, the two horses become friends, but Topthorn dies from exhaustion. As Friedrich mourns the horse, a tank attack hits his group, killing him and causing Joey to flee in escape. He is caught in barbed wire in No Man's Land between the enemy lines. The Germans and British each send out a man under a white flag to aid the horse. Winning a coin toss, the British take the injured Joey back to camp. Albert and David's infantry division encounter Emilie, who is alone and traumatized; they take her to British headquarters. On the way, Albert sees a dead horse with Ned's knife in him. Believing that the horse is Joey, Albert is broken. Recognizing Joey's name, Emilie tries to talk to Albert, but David is shot and killed, and Albert temporarily blinded by tear gas. Emilie does not have the chance to tell him about his horse. Behind the lines, in a British encampment, Albert tells his story to a nurse just as the damaged Joey is brought to the camp by soldiers. The soldiers prepare to kill the injured horse, but Albert whistles and Joey responds to him. Learning the full story, the soldiers agree to let Albert care for Joey during their joint convalescence. The horse and farmboy return home safe to Devon at the end of the war.

Productions

National Theatre (2007–2009)

The show premiered on 17 October 2007 in the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre on the South Bank, London, on a run that ended on 14 February 2008. It returned for a second run on 10 September 2008, and closed on 18 March 2009.

West End (2009–2016)

''War Horse'' transferred to the West End's

Gillian Lynne Theatre The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre formerly occupied the site until 1965 ...

, beginning preview performances on 28 March 2009, prior to an official opening of 3 April. The original cast featured

Kit Harington Christopher Catesby Harington (born 26 December 1986) is an English actor who is widely known for his role as Jon Snow in the HBO epic fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). After studying at the Royal Central School o ...

as Albert, who reprised his South Bank performance. The production includes an original score composed by Adrian Sutton. The production met with critical acclaim for its powerful use of life-size horse puppets designed by the

of South Africa, winning an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

Evening Standard Theatre Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

and London Critics' Circle Theatre Award. On 12 October 2009 the performance was seen by HM Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and her husband

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

, marking their first private theatre visit in four years. ''War Horse'' has been popular with audiences, playing to 97% capacity in 2010, subsequently breaking the record for the highest weekly gross for a play in the West End. In December 2010, ''War Horse'' was dubbed "the theatrical event of the decade" by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

''. In 2011 it welcomed its millionth audience member.Shenton, Mark
"Nicola Stephenson and Patrick Robinson Join Cast of West End's War Horse"
playbill.com, 1 March 2011. It was announced in September 2015, that ''War Horse'' was scheduled to close on 12 March 2016. By the time it closed, the play had played more than 3,000 performances.

Broadway (2011–2013)

As a co-production of the National Theatre and

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

, ''War Horse'' began preview performances at the

Vivian Beaumont Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Bro ...

in New York City on 15 March 2011, and opened on Broadway 14 April. The British creative team are joined by an all-American cast.

Seth Numrich Seth Numrich ( ; born January 19, 1987) is an American stage, television, and film actor. Early life Numrich was born in Minneapolis. He studied at The Juilliard School graduating in acting in 2006 with Group 36 in acting. He was a teaching ar ...

originated the leading role of Albert. His '' Private Romeo'' costar, Matt Doyle, played Billy. Stephen Plunkett played Lieutenant Nicholls. The production was scheduled to have a limited run, closing on 26 June 2011, but soon became open-ended after strong critical reception and ticket sales. The production received five

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

at the 2011 ceremony, including Best Play. ''War Horse'' closed on 6 January 2013, after 718 performances and 33 previews."International Hit ''War Horse'' Ends Broadway Run Jan. 6; Toronto Production Also Closes"
''Playbill'', 6 January 2013

Toronto, Canada (2012–2013)

The show opened a separate Canadian production in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, on 28 February 2012 at

Mirvish Productions Mirvish Productions is a Canadian based theatrical production company and promoter. The company was founded in 1987 by David Mirvish, son of Toronto retailing icon and owner of the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Ed Mirvish. The first assets acquired ...

Princess of Wales Theatre The Princess of Wales Theatre is a 2,000-seat live theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on King Street West, in Toronto's downtown Entertainment District. The theatre's name has a triple meaning: it honours Diana, Princess of Wales, ...

, following previews from 10 February. Alex Furber starred as Albert. The production closed on 6 January 2013.

US national tour (2012-2014)

The show's first national tour of the United States previewed at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding ...

's Morrison Center in

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...

, before launching at the

Ahmanson Theatre The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that compose the Los Angeles Music Center. History The theatre was built as a result of a donation from Howard F. Ahmanson Sr, the founder of H.F. Ahmanson & Co., an insurance and savings and ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, from 14 June 2012 on a run through 29 July. It was scheduled for an additional 29 cities across the country. The role of Albert was played by Andrew Veenstra. This touring production played its final performance 24 August at Tokyo'sbr>Tokyu Theatre Orb
where the play had made its Asian premiere. Over 1.2 million audience members saw the first national tour of ''War Horse''.

Australian Tour (2012–2013)

The

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n premiere production began previews on 23 December 2012, prior to a 31 December opening night at the

Arts Centre Melbourne Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central ...

. It played until 10 March 2013, ahead of dates in Sydney and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. An

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

engagement was planned, but was cancelled due to low ticket sales. The role of Albert was played by

Cody Fern Cody Fern (born 6 July 1988) is an Australian actor and director. Following his feature debut in ''The Tribes of Palos Verdes'' (2017), he portrayed murder victim David Madson in the FX series '' The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American C ...

First UK National Tour (2013–2014)

''War Horse'' embarked on a UK Tour starting Autumn 2013. The tour played at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth (27 September to 12 October); the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Hippodrome The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used i ...

(17 October to 9 November); the Lowry at

Salford Quays Salford Quays is an area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom fol ...

(20 November - 18 January 2014); the

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Festival Theatre (22 January-15 February); the

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

(19 February-15 March); the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Bord Gáis Energy Theatre The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (originally the Grand Canal Theatre) is a performing arts venue, located in the Docklands of Dublin, Ireland. It is Ireland's largest fixed-seat theatre. It was designed by Daniel Libeskind for the DDDA, built by ...

(26 March - 26 April); the Sunderland Empire Theatre (30 April - 17 May); and finished in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

at the

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

(18 June - 19 July).

Berlin, Germany (2013–2014)

The first non-English-language production, entitled ''Gefährten'' (which loosely translates to ''Comrades'', not coincidentally the same name given to the German release of Steven Spielberg's film), launched in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Germany, on 20 October 2013 at the Stage Theater des Westens. Marking the centenary of the first world war, ''War Horse'' is the first play about the war to be put on in Germany since that war began. It was produced in the same theatre attended by the Kaiser and

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. Someone called the play "the greatest anthem to peace" ever seen on the stage. :"An English play translated into German, it has a German cast, singing English folksongs in German...I was there on the first night in Berlin. It was a night to remember. A night I will never forget." --Michael Morpurgo

Netherlands (2014-2015)

The

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

premiere of ''War Horse'' opened at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

's Theatre Carré on 30 May 2014, and ran through to 28 September 2014. After Amsterdam, ''War Horse'' toured to five further venues in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, Breda, Groningen,

Apeldoorn Apeldoorn (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland in the centre of the Netherlands. It is located about 60 km east of Utrecht, 60 km west of Enschede, 25 km north of Arnhem and 35 km south of Zwolle. Th ...

and

Heerlen Heerlen (; li, Heële ) is a city and a municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the fourth municipality in the province of Limburg ...

South Africa (2014-2015)

The

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n premiere of ''War Horse'' (billed in some media as a 'homecoming') opened at the Teatro at Montecasino in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

on 22 October 2014, and played through to 30 November 2014. The South African tour concluded with a transfer to Cape Town's Artscape Opera House on 12 December, where it ran until 4 January 2015.

China (2015-16)

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

adaptation of ''War Horse'', entitled 战马, was announced in late 2014, directed b
Alex Sims
and Li Dong, and fully translated into

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

. The production premiered at

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

National Theatre Company of China The National Theater of China or National Theater Company of China (), based in Beijing, is China's national theatrical company, founded on December 25, 2001 with the merger of China National Youth Theater () and China National Experimental Theat ...

on 4 September 2015, and ran until 31 October. After the Beijing stop, the play toured to theatres in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

(15 November 2015 – 17 January 2016),

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

(8 March – 3 May 2016), as well as stops in

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

and

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

. Following the success of the first Chinese tour, the second tour began in Beijing in August 2016.

Further UK tours and London runs

A 10th Anniversary tour commenced in September 2017 at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (15 September to 14 October) before heading to the

Bristol Hippodrome The Bristol Hippodrome () is a theatre located in The Centre, Bristol, England, United Kingdom with seating on three levels giving a capacity of 1,951. It frequently features shows from London's West End when they tour the UK, as well as re ...

(18 October to 11 November),

Liverpool Empire The Liverpool Empire Theatre is a theatre on the corner of Lime Street in Liverpool, England. The playhouse, which opened in 1925, is the second one to be built on the site. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in the United Kingdom and can ...

(15 November to 2 December), New Theatre, Oxford (13 December to 6 January 2018), Brighton Centre (25 January to 10 February), Alhambra Theatre, Bradford (14 February to 10 March),

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall Nottingham Royal Concert Hall is a concert hall in the English city of Nottingham. It is owned by Nottingham City Council and is part of a complex that also includes the city's Theatre Royal. The Royal Concert Hall's striking modern architectur ...

(14 March to 7 April),

Edinburgh Festival Theatre The Edinburgh Festival Theatre (originally Empire Palace Theatre and later shortened to Empire Theatre) is a performing arts venue located on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is used primarily for performances of opera and ballet, larg ...

(18 April to 12 May), Southampton Mayflower Theatre (16 May to 9 June), The Lowry, Salford (13 to 30 June), Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff (4 to 28 July), New Victoria Theatre, Woking (1 to 18 August),

Plymouth Theatre Royal Theatre Royal, Plymouth, is a theatre venue in Plymouth, Devon. It consists of a 1,300-seat main auditorium, The Lyric, which regularly hosts large-scale musicals, opera and ballet; a 200-seat studio, The Drum; and a 50-seat studio, The Lab. O ...

(29 August to 15 September),

Milton Keynes Theatre Milton Keynes Theatre is a large theatre in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It opened on 4 October 1999, 25 years after the campaign for a new theatre first started. Designed by architects Blonski-Heard with Kut Nadiadi and Robert Doe, the thea ...

(19 September to 6 October),

Birmingham Hippodrome The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including vi ...

(10 October to 3 November) ending with a return to its original home at the

National Theatre, London The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

for a limited engagement from 8 November 2018 to 5 January 2019 to mark the centenary of the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

. The production played in the Lyttleton Theatre, opposed to its original stage - the Olivier, to comply with traditional touring logistics in a proscenium arch theatre. The tour re-opened at Glasgow SEC (15 January to 2 February 2019) before touring to Sunderland Empire Theatre (6 to 23 February), Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (27 February to 16 March),

Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent The Regent Theatre is a theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Constructed in 1929 as a cinema, it is one of several theatres in the city centre and one of two operated by the Ambassador Theatre Group on behalf of Stoke-on-Trent City Council. The b ...

(27 March to 6 April), Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin (10 to 27 April),

(31 July to 17 August 2019), New Theatre, Oxford (22 August to 7 September 2019),

Curve, Leicester The Curve Theatre is a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the cultural quarter in Leicester City Centre. Before being named ''Curve'', it was referred to as ''Leicester Performing Arts Centre''. It is adjacent to the Leicester Athena confer ...

(18 September to 12 October 2019) before ending at another

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

run at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre from 18 October to 19 November 2019.

Singapore (2020)

The

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

premiere of ''War Horse'', jointly presented by the

Singapore Repertory Theatre Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) is a non-profit professional theatre company founded in 1993. It is located at the KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT at 20 Merbau Road, Singapore. The current artistic director is Gaurav Kripalani while its manag ...

and the

Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...

, was planned to commence on 24 April 2020 at the

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay (also known as the Esplanade Theatres (''Malay'': Teater di Persisiran) or simply The Esplanade) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and a performing arts centre loc ...

and run through 3 May 2020. However, it has been cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Film adaptation

Steven Spielberg directed the United States movie adaptation of ''War Horse'', released on 25 December 2011, with a screenplay written by

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...

and Lee Hall based on the novel. The film was shot entirely in England: in

, at

Stratfield Saye Stratfield Saye is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane and the English county of Hampshire. The parish includes the hamlets of West End Green, Fair Oak Green and Fair Cross. Etymology The name means 'Street-F ...

in Berkshire,

Wisley __NOTOC__ Wisley is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England between Cobham and Woking, in the Borough of Guildford. It is the home of the Royal Horticultural Society's Wisley Garden. The River Wey runs through the village and Ockham and ...

in Surrey, the

Luton Hoo Luton Hoo is an English country house and estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Saxon word Hoo means the spur of a hill, and is more common ...

Estate in Bedfordshire, and at

Castle Combe Castle Combe is a village and civil parish within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wiltshire, England. The village is around north-west of Chippenham. A castle once stood in the area, but was demolished centuries ago. The vi ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. It was filmed naturalistically, with over 100 real horses (including 14 to portray Joey) and computer-generated imagery to support battle scenes.

War Horse at the Proms

On 3 August 2014 a special production of ''War Horse'' was presented at the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall, London, as ''Prom 22'', with Adrian Sutton's music played by the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

, and the cast and puppets of the show performing on stage. This was televised live by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

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Synopsis

Productions

National Theatre (2007–2009)

West End (2009–2016)

Broadway (2011–2013)

Toronto, Canada (2012–2013)

US national tour (2012-2014)

Australian Tour (2012–2013)

First UK National Tour (2013–2014)

Berlin, Germany (2013–2014)

Netherlands (2014-2015)

South Africa (2014-2015)

China (2015-16)

Further UK tours and London runs

Singapore (2020)

Film adaptation

War Horse at the Proms

In popular culture

Critical reception

Awards and nominations

London production

Broadway production

References

General

External links