Toby Sedgwick and War Horse

Introduction

War Horse is a great phenomenon of theater in London and New York today. In 2011, it won five awards in New York: best film, best director (Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris), Best Scenic Design (Rae Smith), best lighting design (Paule Constable) and best sound design (Christopher Shutt). Furthermore, "Handspring Puppet Company" won a special award for construction of puppets. The work has been adapted by Nick Stafford and is based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo with a same title, the main living author of children's literature in the UK. In London, he has represented since 2007 (at the Royal National Theatre-Olivier, and from 2009 in the West End-New London Theatre). In New York, he has been representing the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center since January 2011. This unusual spectacle of showmanship is a powerful statement against war in highlighting puppets of horses capable of running and subtle movements. In December 2011, Steven Spielberg film launches its own version of Warhorse.

Analysis

War Horse is difficult to know, but something very deep. Part of it, because of the magic of theater and another part of those magnificent puppet horses with actual dimensions that actors managed to make them as real horses. The most important thing the actors have learned is to make the puppets breathe like horses. The visual phenomenon of these horses is something not seen much on stage. The story of the loss of something you love and finally recovered again is something to which people respond. The ending is hopeful, until the public sees the act or unless the audience already knows that the boy will meet again with the horse or the horse even survive the war. This was possible only because of the efforts of one man, Toby Sedgwick, who transformed the entire notion of stage drama to reality and liveliness.

Horses

Morpurgo said that when the novel was written as a great "non-event." At that time the only war we had was the Cold War, but now the war is in no chance, and maybe that's the reason why the public is now more interested in Warhorse. The puppets play a huge role in the success of the work. We've all seen puppets on stage before, we've all seen masks. But these puppets are somewhat stylized, while these puppet horses were not completely real, but undoubtedly seemed real. They are drawn ...