Broadway Across Canada Presents War Horse

July 23, 2013

The National Theatre of Great Britain’s epic War Horse, winner of five 2011 Tony® Awards including Best Play, will make its premiere in Vancouver from September 24 to 29 at the Queen E Theatre.

Michael Morpurgo’s beloved novel, War Horse, is also the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s feature film of the same name, which earned six Oscar nominations including Best Picture.

Hailed by The New York Times as “theatrical magic,” War Horse is the powerful story of young Albert’s beloved horse, Joey, who has been enlisted to fight for the English in World War I. Joey is caught in enemy crossfire and ends up serving both sides of the war before landing in no man’s land. Albert, not old enough to enlist, embarks on a treacherous mission to find his horse and bring him home. What follows is a remarkable tale of courage, loyalty and friendship, filled with stirring music and songs and told with the some of the most innovative stagecraft of our time.

The War Horse tour, adapted from Morpurgo’s book by Nick Stafford, directed by Bijan Sheibani, and based on the original Tony® Award-winning direction by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, is presented in association with Handspring Puppet Company. At the heart of the show are life-sized puppets that bring breathing, galloping, charging horses to life on stage. South African-based Handspring won a special Tony® Award for their work on this production.

I was thrilled to be up front at the Playhouse Theatre earlier this year for a preview of Joey and his handlers.

War Horse received its World Premiere in a limited engagement at the National’s Olivier Theatre in 2007. The play continues open-ended at West End’s New London Theatre. War Horse has been seen by over four million people worldwide. This autumn, a German version of the play, Gefahrten, will open in Berlin. War Horse will also begin a major tour of the UK and Ireland. For more information, visit the War Horse website.

Broadway Across Canada Presents War Horse
Dates: September 24 to 29
Tuesday through Saturday, 8 pm; Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday matinee, 2 pm
Venue: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 649 Cambie Street, Vancouver
Tickets: $35 and up (plus service fees); via Ticketmaster or via phoning 1.855.985.5000

War Horse is presented by Broadway Across Canada and is part of a four-city tour including dates in Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa.

All photos (where not watermarked) courtesy of Broadway Across Canada.