|
War
Horse play enjoys Sydney media call at Lyric Theatre,
The Star - 19th March 2013
Profiles
Movies
Hollywood
Theatre
Lyric
Theatre The
Star Entertainment
Sydney
Australia
War
Horse play enjoys Sydney, Australia media call at
Lyric Theatre, The Star - 19th March 2013...
This
morning War Horse (the play - not the movie), enjoyed
its Sydney media / production call.
It
might have been a touch low on media attendance, but
was high on talent, passion, and quality all around.
This
Thursday War Horse will enjoy much more media attention
with its Sydney red carpet premiere, however the Music
News Australia and Media Man team were happy to get
a leg up on the competition by getting an early look
in at this world class production.
The
acting, production, props and every other element
certainly had a 5 star look and feel to it.
It's
little wonder media and audiences have been raving
about the production the world over.
Media
quotes...
“War
Horse is extraordinary theatre. Brilliant, bold, moving,
it is a world-class fusion of performance, design
and specially puppetry.” The Age
“Epic…
Magnificent… Impressive. You can almost smell
the sweat and leather and hear the galloping hooves
of their magnificent “animals” manipulated
by master puppeteers.” - Herald Sun
“Outstanding.
The production confidently says: Come along for the
ride.” - The Australian
“Unique and breathtaking theatre.” - Radio
National
“Truly a spectacle that you have to experience.”
- 3AW
"Everything
about War Horse looks to be 5 stars. The overall production,
acting, consuming, the animal robotics. The interaction
between the actors, the horses and the audience is
amazing and has to be experienced to be believed.
This version of War Horse is just as satisfying as
the movie - maybe more so in some regards. This may
just be the best play to hit Australia this year.
Highly recommended" - Greg Tingle, Media Director
- Media Man.
The
Guardian's Michael Billington wrote in his review:
Elliott
and Morris recreate the kaleidoscopic horror of war
through bold imagery, including the remorseless advance
of a manually operated tank, and through the line-drawings
of Rae Smith projected on to a suspended screen. Admittedly
the performers are somewhat eclipsed by the action
... The joy of the evening, however, lies in the skilled
recreation of equine life and in its unshaken belief
that mankind is ennobled by its love of the horse.
Charles
Spencer in The Daily Telegraph had written that, generally,
"puppets are often an embarrassment, involving
a lot of effort and fuss for negligible returns";
in this case, he praised the puppetry as "truly
magnificent creations by the Handspring Puppet Company."
The Times' 10-year-old guest reviewer called the show
"movingly and realistically brought to life"
and "an emotional and compelling adaptation of
the book."
In
reviewing the Broadway production, Ben Brantley wrote
in The New York Times, "...it is how Joey is
summoned into being, along with an assortment of other
animals, that gives this production its ineffably
theatrical magic...Beautifully designed by Rae Smith
... and Paule Constable, this production is also steeped
in boilerplate sentimentality. Beneath its exquisite
visual surface, it keeps pushing buttons like a sales
clerk in a notions shop." Brantley suggests,
"The implicit plea not to be forgotten applies
not just to the villagers, soldiers and horses portrayed
here, but also to theater, as an evanescent art that
lives on only in audiences’ memories. Judged
by that standard, much of War Horse evaporates not
long after it ends. But I would wager that for a good
while, you’ll continue to see Joey in your dreams."
Entertainment
Weekly gave a positive review, calling the show an
"imaginative, moving new Broadway drama ... The
play's equine stars are the remarkable creation of
Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones' Handspring Puppet Company.
As manipulated by three handlers dressed in period
costumes, the life-size creatures seem to breathe,
snort, feed, walk, gallop, and rear up just as naturally
as the genuine articles. In no time at all, they become
characters as rounded and complex as any of the humans
on stage." Time magazine ranked the play as its
top choice among all theatre productions in 2011.
The
Wall Street Journal's Terry Teachout praised the puppetry,
but gave mixed reactions to the play: "The fundamental
flaw of 'War Horse' is that Nick Stafford, who wrote
the script 'in association' (that's how the credit
reads) with South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company,
has taken a book that was written for children and
tried to give it the expressive weight of a play for
adults. Not surprisingly, Mr. Morpurgo's plot can't
stand the strain. Dramatic situations that work perfectly
well in the context of the book play like Hollywood
clichés onstage. In the first act, the craftsmanship
is so exquisite that this doesn't matter—much—but
things go downhill fast after intermission. The really
big problem is the last scene, about which, once again,
the drama critics' code commands silence. This much
must be said, though: A play that is so forthright
about the horrors of war owes its audience a more
honest ending."
Theatre
review aggregator Curtain Critic gave the production
a score of 88 out of 100 based on the opinions of
21 critics.
WAR HORSE MEDIA RELEASE:
Internationally acclaimed critical and box office
hit
War
Horse...
The
National Theatre of Great Britain and Global Creatures
are proud to bring the multiple Tony and Olivier Award-winning
War Horse, to Australia.
Applauded
by critics and audiences alike, War Horse held its
Australian premiere in Melbourne on New Year’s
Eve at Arts Centre Melbourne’s State Theatre.
After the Melbourne season War Horse will travel to
Sydney for a season at the Sydney Lyric from Saturday
16 March, 2013 and to Brisbane for a season at Lyric
Theatre from Saturday 6 July, 2013.
Since its world premiere in London in 2007, War Horse
has won numerous prestigious awards including two
Laurence Olivier Awards, five Tony Awards and four
Outer Critics’ Circle Awards amongst a host of
others. The Handspring Puppet Company has also won
many accolades including a 2011 Special Tony Award.
“The ANZAC spirit is deeply entrenched in the
Australian ethos. We expect War Horse to have a great
resonance in this country not only because of our
connection to World War I but because themes of the
land, loss and the ultimate triumph of friendship
have a special place in the Australian psyche. We
are proud to produce this highly acclaimed show with
the National Theatre.” says Carmen Pavlovic,
CEO of Global Creatures.
Nick Stafford’s stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s
book, War Horse is a magnificent drama which tells
the heart wrenching story of Joey, the beloved horse
of a boy called Albert, who is sold to the cavalry
at the outbreak of World War I and shipped to France.
He’s soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes
him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides
before finding himself alone in no man’s land.
But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough
to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to
find him and bring him home.
At its heart are astonishing puppets strong enough
for men to ride, created by South Africa’s Handspring
Puppet Company, who bring breathing, galloping, charging
horses to life on the stage. Life size horses traverse
the stage, their flanks, hides and sinews built of
steel, leather and aircraft cables. Actors, working
with these dynamic puppets, will lead Australian audiences
on an emotionally-charged journey through history.
"War Horse is a life affirming story about friendship,
courage and family, which appeals to all ages. This
is a production that brings the family together, we
get people coming back again and again, and they always
have the same reaction. It awakens something in you,”
says Chris Harper, Producer, National Theatre of Great
Britain.
War Horse has played to packed houses at London’s
National Theatre, the West End’s New London Theatre
and New York’s Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln
Center. A further production opened in Toronto, Canada
in February 2012 and a US tour commenced in June 2012.
Steven Spielberg’s movie adaptation of Michael
Morpurgo’s novel, released by DreamWorks Studios
in late 2011, was nominated for six Academy Awards
including Best Picture.
Directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, War Horse
is designed by Rae Smith, with puppet design and fabrication
by Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler for Handspring Puppet
Company, lighting by Paule Constable, and movement
and horse choreography by Toby Sedgwick; the puppetry
directors are Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler, with
video design by Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer, songmaker
John Tams, music by Adrian Sutton and sound by Christopher
Shutt.
Websites
Lyric
Theatre, Sydney - War Horse
www.sydneylyric.com.au/index.php/whats-on/current-show/War-Horse
Lyric
Theatre, Sydney
www.sydneylyric.com.au
War
Horse On Stage official website
www.warhorseonstage.com
The
Star
www.star.com.au
Media
Man Int
www.mediamanint.com
Eva
Rinaldi Photography
www.evarinaldi.com
Music
News Australia
www.musicnewsaustralia.com
|
