War Horse at the National Theater is a perfect example of puppetry done well. All the animal puppets, especially the horses, moved with such intention and accuracy that you began to look past the operators and see them as real. It was so impressive the way the puppets were able to portray emotion and have such an intense connection with the actors. The Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington has a Theatre and Performance section, although most of it was closed, that showcases a variety of costumes and props from various musicals, plays, ballets, TV shows, and movies.
The most interesting part of this exhibit for me was the puppets from the series His Dark Materials. There was a video discussing the creation behind the puppets, in which the creators explained that the most important aspect of the puppets were their heads and eyes. This is because these parts are a touch point for the actor, where the connection is built. The more accurate the head and eyes are, the stronger the relationship will be between actor and puppet. The puppets also needed to be as lightweight as possible so they could be easy to manipulate. It was important to the creators that the specific detailed mannerisms of the animals were clear and readable on screen. When translating the puppets to VFX, the animators built the animals from their skeletons to muscles to skin to fur, making them as realistic as possible. This video made me curious about the process of building the puppets for War Horse and what the creators thought the most important aspect of the process was. I wonder how much each puppet weighed and how they made each puppet so accurate to the real life animal. I loved War Horse and this exhibit only made me want to learn more about it.
-Milly Medlock
Theatre in London U of A 