By: The Captain of The Beagle
Dec 2024
I was lucky enough to attend TRP’s Puppetry Workshop, specifically in the performances of the National Theatre’s War Horse. The workshop was led by Lucas Button, who performed here during War Horse’s initial UK touring run. Lucas played the rear of the three puppeteers in Joey, the main character in War Horse. I have seen the show twice and well remember how realistic the horses appear to be. The whole object of the performers is to make you forget that you are not watching real animals. The explanations of exactly how the hooves, tail & ears moved & were activated really showed the attention to detail – by a ski-type pole with a grip, like a bicycle brake, on top.
There is one puppeteer for the head and two inside, one for the heart & a third at the rear. To ‘get in the frame’ they form a circle & breathe, in sync, for three minutes before putting on their rucksack-type harnesses & then getting under the steel frame, on which there is another, bamboo, frame and then the skin (through which they can see reasonably well). The whole thing weighs about 12 stone/67 kg and then there is a real 12 stone actor riding on top, so the puppeteers need to be, and keep, very fit.
Once inside, they cannot communicate with each other & have to be a ‘horse’. All the ‘horse’s’ actions must be realistic to and in the circumstances around it – if an actor comes too close, the horse must move away – or into the stern zone, where a horse can’t see, the head must move to keep an eye on the human. Interestingly, a horse’s lungs are about three times as big as a human’s, so when the three puppeteers make horse sounds, (which have to be on the human in-breath), the volume is very similar. To achieve the necessary understanding of how to be a horse, they spent a long time studying and observing live horses. The whole horse ‘costume’ costs about £200,000. There are several sets around the World, all made by the Handspring Puppet Company of Cape Town. Lucas talked about meeting live horses when ‘in costume’. He said that police horses, being more thoroughly trained in dealing with the unexpected, were less concerned, but others would see a horse & come to sniff, they shy away when there was no smell. However, on one occasion, he remembered a police horse being spooked & turning, as if to kick-out. Joey rapidly retreated out of range.
Finally, we were treated to a demonstration of how to bring a sheet of paper to life as an animal. Impossible to describe! But, we saw it done at TR2 this afternoon and, in the hands of a master puppeteer, it is a miracle to behold.
The Captain writes for The Beagle
The War Horse Puppetry Workshop was a TRP members event. To find out more about becoming a member, visit https://theatreroyal.com/join/memberships/