War Horse star gallops onto stage

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      There was some serious horsing around going on at Broadway Across Canada's 2013-14 season launch last night at the Playhouse.

      Three puppeteers brought Joey, the star of War Horse (which hits the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on September 24 to 29) on-stage, whinnying, stamping his hoof, and snorting away.

      The stunt was to give media and would-be subscribers a sampling of how lifelike the Tony Award-winning London and Broadway hit's horses are. Constructed out of soaked and stained cane by South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company, they are a real-sized marvel of theatrical illusion—complete with ears that twitch. It's not so much that they look authentic in form: the horses are an artful sketch of the real animal, a hollow cross-hatch of cane instead of fur-covered with glass eyes. Instead, it's up to the puppeteers to bring them to realistic life.

      "It takes three actors to bring Joey to life and they have to learn to be a team to give him a voice," explained War Horse production representative Scott Tucker . "Each actor is given a physical task and they're in charge of emotional indicators." In other words, one works the ears, flipping them back when the horse is nervous or temperamental; another swishes the tail or stamps the hoof.  All three work together to make the elaborate, layered snorting and whinnying sounds—something puppeteer Curtis Jordan admits is a "cool party trick".

      It turns out none of the three puppeteers on-stage on this day were "horsey" people before this gig. "But it's amazing once you get the role how geeky you become about horses," admitted Jordan, an actor who just completed his thousandth performance of War Horse in London. He said he finds himself stopping to stare at mounted police and the way their horses move.

      Sometimes the trio has to carry not just the 80 or 90 pounds of the cane horse but the body of the man riding him in the tale of World War I horse battle. "The actors have said you have to have the same approach and feel as if you were really riding on a horse," explained puppeteer Joby Earle, who said it's easier to carry the weight that way.

      War Horse was also made into a movie by Steven Spielberg in 2011.

      Elsewhere in the Broadway Across Canada season is a new 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables from June 12 to 23, souped up with scenery inspired by Victor Hugo's paintings, and no doubt riding the wave of publicity that has come from the show's recent Oscar wins.
      Retro dance musical West Side Story rounds out the season from February 4 to 9, 2014.

      The season is now on sale at www.broadwayacrosscanada.ca/.

      Comments

      1 Comments

      Carol

      Mar 6, 2013 at 12:37pm

      My daughter and I saw War Horse in Los Angeles. It was absolutely amazing. I plan to see it again when it comes to Vancouver. You won't want to miss this fabulous experience.The horses are so life-like you will be crying your eyes out.

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