Ok dude. I have things to say. Was it beautiful? Yes. Was the puppet one of the most spectacular pieces of technical theater I’ve ever seen? Yes. Did I like the play? No.
I’m not going to say it was a bad play, because I don’t have the ability to determine what makes a “good” or “bad” piece of theater. I am not a professional, and I’m certainly not a theater critic. Also, I know I’m in the minority in my opinion. The goodness that the play provided was reflected in the audience, who created a beautiful collective sound of emotion. Regrettably, I was not able to feel it.
My lack of connection to the play I feel was almost entirely because of the plot. After receiving the knowledge that the play was a condensed version of a prior book, it made more sense to me, but during the production, sense was the furthest thing from what I felt. I did not see the plot as cohesive and felt it was not structured in a way I could look past. Due to the plot being so condensed, the addition of many characters within the story felt unnecessary, and we were unable to receive a true character arc for those who were supposed to be crucial elements of the story. The focus also seemed to shift in a very indelicate way. Right as I felt I was starting to get attached to the subject of the horse, the subject transitioned to focus on the people. Then, right when I started to become attached to the story line of the people, the focus was back on the horse. I’m all for a fragmented story line, but the delivery of this idea was not well communicated to me.
I also feel like the show (and story in general) relied far too heavily on large displays of emotion and grusome imagery to create substance, rather than touching on the complexities and nuances of emotion during war. I saw this specifically with the character Friedrich. I never understood his character for a single second. It seemed that his character was very black and white, which I didn’t understand, and I believe limited his character arc severely.
However, I can’t deny the absolute beauty of the technical pieces. There were definitely moments within the show that I felt myself tear up. For example, one moment that used the puppetry beautifully, and also touched on a very beautiful theme, was directly after Joey and Topthorne were placed inside a pen to intimidate each other and determine the power dynamic between them. After a very intense scene, with dramatic music and bold lighting, the two horses are quiet and go back to eating grass. I thought this was a very powerful moment that showed the contrast between humanity and nature. At the end of the day, after all the fighting and drama, they were still just horses.
Warhorse was a visually beautiful show, and I’m very glad that I saw it. I would be interested to read the book and see how the story compares, but for now, I will hold my opinion and remember the positives about the play.
Theatre in London U of A 