As the National Theatre’s acclaimed War Horse canters back to Canterbury, puppetry director Gareth Aled talks about making the stage magic happen

It’s amazing how easy it is to forget that the real stars of the National Theatre’s acclaimed production of War Horse are in actual fact puppets.

But for those behind the scenes and on stage, it isn’t quite so simple.

As Gareth Aled, who worked the puppet heads of main characters Joey and Topthorn on stage in the West End for two years and is now taking on the role of puppetry director, puts it: "You have to have such generosity of spirit that you believe a bit of wood and cane and mesh is more alive and worthy of the audience’s attention than you are."

Gareth, who is passionate about engagement and passing on the creative knowledge through education, pointed out : “The puppetry is astonishing but the thing about this play is that it’s a huge company effort and in my experience, and what I love both as an actor and as a creative, it is a huge piece of ensemble storytelling. That’s not just the cast, that’s the entire company and the sheer endeavour of it. It’s so massive and I’m really passionate about that.”

He said of the puppetry for the production, which first came to the Marlowe Theatre marking 10 years on stage - watched by writer Michael Morpurgo, whose parents met at the theatre: “It’s a play where you’re going to work harder on stage than you ever have done before and It’s such a generous thing and that’s a really important value to instill in the company and to maintain as we go to all these different places on the tour, with different shapes and sizes of auditoriums. That spirit and that value is really important.”

“We’re operating on animal instinct as opposed to caricatures. It’s not Pixar or Disney. These aren’t anthropomorphised animals, they’re behaving like real animals and we’ve got lots of puppets to help us communicate that style and that language.”

There are around 23 or 24 puppets making up the heart-wrenching, and ultimately uplifting, story set in the First World War of Albert and his horse, sent away to war, Joey, with 34 humans in the cast.

It takes three puppeteers to operate Joey, for example, but there are also humans interacting with that puppet, whether it’s pulling the horse around or encouraging it.

There’s a team keeping the puppets going, but, of course, there are mishaps. “It’s live theatre so things might happen,” he says. “The wonderful thing, I think, about any physical ensemble storytelling is that you have a company of people who listen to each other and trust each other. That’s your bread and butter - the ability to listen and to trust.”

And, just as the audience view the puppets as living, breathing creatures, there is an element of that for the cast. If asked to pick a favourite, he alternates between Joey and Topthorn. “They’re very similar in how they’re operated, they’re very similar in shape and size. But they’re very different in terms of their character and their temperament, and their journeys throughout the play are very different.

“The distinct thing for me is to constantly connect with the truth of the horse and what the horse wants, which is very different to what humans want and feel.

“When you’re puppeteering the horse you have to stay truly connected with what the horse wants.”

And of being part of the production, he says: “It’s a show that has been seen by so many people and it’s held a real place in people’s hearts and in their theatregoing memories. As it continues to be performed and as we tour, new audiences and younger audiences are discovering it for the first time. There’s no politics involved in War Horse, it’s just about the way humans treat the horse and it’s got nothing to do with which side of the war you’re on.”

Read our review of the show here.

DETAILS

The National Theatre’s War Horse is at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury from Wednesday, February 27 to Saturday, March 16. For tickets from £19.25, book at marlowetheatre.com or call 01227 787787.