"War Horse" by Michael Morpurgo and adapted by Nick Stafford.

National Theatre production.
Nottingham Royal Concert Hall.

This is the second time that I have seen this beautiful piece of theatre, and it remains as stunning and as powerful as I remember it being when I last saw it about seven years ago.

The young horse was bought in an auction when Ted Narracott (Karl Haynes) out bids his brother, Arthur (Gareth Radcliffe), using the mortgage money of $39.00. This obviously doesn't go down well back at home with his wife, Rose (Jo Castleton) and his son, Albert (Tom Sturgess) is then given the job of looking after the horse, now named Joey.

Arthur then makes a bet with Ted which involved the horse being able to pull a plough within a week, which Albert trains Joey to do, winning the horse for himself.

As war comes, Ted sells the horse to the war behind Albert's back for $100. Albert is resigned to bring Joey back from the war which involves signing up for war, even though he is too young.

"War Horse" exceeds other theatre productions, for me, on two accounts. The first is the whole depiction of war. It shows the true horrors of the first World War; soldiers being blasted off of their horses, horses being mutilated by soldiers riding them into barbed wire fences, soldiers with limbs blown off and the horror of the whole involvement of war. I may say at this stage that it's not quite as graphic as I've made out but the presentation makes your imagination work overtime.

The second is the amazing puppetry. You soon forget that these horses are puppets and there are people involved in making the magic, and you truly believe there are horses on stage. there's one piece where one horse was put out of its' misery which will really get to you; it did me and you just feel helpless, and then you have to bring yourself back to reality and think "it's a puppet"!

That said, these puppeteers, the award winning Handspring Puppet Company, are incredible. The flicks of the horses' tail, the subtle movements, the mane shaking, the breathing of the horse, every mannerism makes you feel they're exquisite equines in front of your very eyes.

It's not just the wonderful horse puppets though, as there's the comical goose, who never quite manages to make it in through the farmhouse door, the birds in the sky, as well as the savage ones picking at the flesh of the dead soldiers and the horses. Pure theatrical magic.

It's this magic that will get you choked at the end. A lesser individual would have released a tear; I just had dust in my eye making it water. Must have been all that dust from the several gunshots on stage.

Seriously though, this is one of the most amazing pieces of theatre you'll see, and you'd have to be inhuman not to be moved by the incredible actors, puppeteers, singers etc, If you allow yourself to invest emotion into this show, you'll leave this theatre drained.

The cast number about thirty-five, including the puppeteers that bring these amazing puppets to life.

I've said in the past that a really good puppeteer will make you see the puppet and not the puppet master, and with puppets of this scale, that's not hard to do, but to make you feel emotion towards such a creation shows that they have convince you that what you see is a living, breathing alternative cast member, and they make you invest in those characters to such an extent that you really do block out anything bar the animal you see before you.

That said, the puppeteers really do need a mention for creating that magic, and it is incredibly hard work doing what they do.

Joey, the horse that the Narracott's bought, and the titular character in this story, was brought to life by Tea Poldervaart (Head), Robin Hayward / Ross Green(Heart) and Gun Suen(Hind).

Joey as a foal was thanks to Diany Samba-Bandza (Head), Jordan Paris (Heart) and Eloise Beaumont-Wood (Hind)

Tophorn, the Captain's horse was controlled by Tom Quinn (Head), Lewis McBean (Heart) and Michael Larcombe (Hind).

 

The lighting design by Rob Casey was spectacular, as was the sound design by Christopher Shutt; both bringing your heart rate down as well as making you jump out of your skin.

Music was beautifully evocative folk music, written by Adrian Sutton, who also created the music for the National Theatre's production of "The Curious Incident Of the Dog In The Night Time", and the song maker being John Tams. performed live on stage by Sally Swanson.

Matthew Forbes is the Puppetry Director with Toby Sedgwick being in charge of the  Horse Choreography and Movement Director. Adrian Kohler is the Puppet designer/Fabrication on behalf of Handspring Puppet Company. 

"War Horse" is directed by Tom Morris and Katie Henry (revival director). It's almost like watching a three dimensional Hollywood movie being played out just feet from where you're sitting. The explosions powerful enough for you to feel the impact on your chest, taking your breath away.

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Several times I've built myself up for a piece of theatre and have found that the production fell below what I'd hoped for. This production exceeded anything I could have hoped for. It's a beautiful piece of theatre, which I'm sure that the Directors, Tom Morris and Katie Henry are incredibly proud of. If I was a director and produced a piece like this, I'd be happy to retire knowing that I'd be hard pushed to better it.

I really can't impress on anyone wondering if they should see this show just how much they will love this piece of theatre, as I did. Just make sure that you're fully stocked up with tissues.

"War Horse" is stabled at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall until Sunday 18 May.

 "Communicating Doors" by Alan Ayckbourn.

The Studio Theatre, West Bridgford.

West Bridgford Dramatic Society.

The communicating doors in the title of the play are in a hotel room, and they allow some of the characters to travel through time, returning to the same hotel room twenty years earlier. But not everybody gets transported, and not everybody gets transported to the same era.

The play kicks off in 2014, in a suite at the Regal Hotel. Julian has arranged for a prostitute for seventy-year-old Reece Welles. The girl, Phoebe, is a dominatrix who goes by the name Poopay Daysir. Reece's regular was not available so Poopay got the job! Reece doesn't want her for what she usually gets paid for as that would, in his own words, "Finish me off altogether, in my condition". Instead, he wants her to witness a confession and then deliver it into the trusted hands of one of the partners of his solicitors.

Reece's business partner Julian had bumped off Reece's previous two wives, and as Julian didn't want this information out in the open, and realising that Reece was about to confess to Phoebe, he had to make sure that Phoebe was dispatched also.

Phoebe escapes through the time travelling communicating doors to the evening that Reece's second wife, Ruella, was due to meet her doom at the hands of Julian. The year was 1998. After much convincing, Ruella also goes through the communicating doors and travels back another 20 years, 1978 and to Reece's first wife, Jessica, but in the meantime Julian is still chasing Poopay, as well as Ruella.

This might sound like I have told the whole story, but there's so much more to discover through the communicating doors!

Julian is played by Jeff Tullin. He welcomes Poopay into the flat at the start of the play, after which we find out that Jeff is, not only quite a rude character, he's also very dangerous! Played with a lovely sense of menace, there's also some nice comedy scenes that contrast well with Jeff's threatening behaviour.

Phoebe aka Poopay is played by Sarah Godwin. In this play the Phoebe that we end up with is a very different Phoebe to how we first envisage her, and via that journey we also get to see two different sides to Sarah's acting skills.

Stephen Herring plays the older Reece, and like Phoebe we see two very different Reeces, and the later Reece at the end of the play is not one that we would ever consider from the first vision. Stephen also gets to present two different physical sides to the character.

Ruella, Reece's second wife who Phoebe first encounters through those doors, is played by Alison Scotney. This is a great character, one that has to think quickly to take control of her destiny, and Alison straight away convinced me of the character. I then, at the end of the show, read the programme to find out more about Alison, as I'd not seen her before, and found out that this was Alison's first board treading for a while, and a newcomer to West Bridgford Dramatic Society. None of that showed at all because Alison was so at ease in character as well as being in front of a sold out audience.

Ruella decides to go through the doors and this is where she comes into contact with her husband as a twenty something on his wedding night with the first wife, Jessica.

Reece, the younger, is played by Harry Longbottom, not the only Longbottom that has theatrical talents! Of course, with this being the honeymoon, the costumes for both young Reece and Jessica are, shall we say, un-cumbersome! Harry has fun with this role, and on Tuesday's warm evening, at least there would be no chance of him overheating under the lights!

Jessica is played by Emily Martin. There are some lighter moments with Jessica, even though she soon discovers that she would be killed off seven years down the line. Unlike Harry's character though, there's a return of Jessica near the end, so did Ruella and Phoebe manage to alter the course of history, or should that be the future? 

Harold Palmer, the only security guard in the hotel, is played by Adrian Bacon. Adrian has a big role physically which contrasts quite comedically with the petite Alison with one scene where he is having a debate with Ruella. Plenty of comedy with this security guy as well. Adrian gets to wear two very different suits as this character, but what I also noticed was that the shoes changed with the costumes. This may be an odd thing to say, but a lot of the time, with male costume changes, you notice that the shoes are kept the same; here they have been changed to match the new costume. It's the little things like this that create an extra veneer of realism.

Directed by Danny Longbottom. While I am on the subject of the "little things", Danny has observed these things meticulously. I deliberately noted the change of the door numbers and the matching accessories for Palmer. This is a long play - you certainly get your money's worth at two and three quarter hours including interval - but the pace is the thing in this play and there's never a dull moment.

Set Designers are Andy & Ali Bakewell. As soon as you walk into the theatre space you get hit visually by a wonderful set, and you note the five doors, which indicate that you are in for a farce. The majority of the set is the living space of the hotel room, a cut away bathroom and bedroom door. The attention to detail in the main room and bathroom needs noting and will give you plenty to pore over during the interval or on your way out. The "communicating door" itself has a magical time spanning feel about it, thanks to the lighting design plus the window is mirrored until the effects start. A brilliant set which oozes class whether in 1974, 1994 or 2014.

Sound Designer is Jem Woolley and operated by Rob Dixon. The sound effects, combined with the lighting effects for the door gives you a flashback to those old science fiction films you used to see on Saturday mornings at the pictures, and I love that retro feel it gives. Also I must mention the depth of the sound effects really create that distant feel with some of the scenes.

Lighting Designer is Sav Dixon and operated by Calum Sharp. As with the above comments, the blending of the sound and light teams really make the whole feel of the play come alive.

The costumes and props, to which I've already praised, are thanks to Jerome Foley, Jo Sharpe & Mandy Stephens. 

I have seen this suspense packed, sci-fi influenced and wordy Ayckbourn masterpiece once before, but this cast made it seem as if this were the first time that I had seen it. It has the wit that we have come to expect from Alan Ayckbourn as well as some nice plot twists, that you don't see coming, but he doesn't forget to include the human element of these characters.

"Communicating Doors" is at the Studio Theatre in West Bridgford until Saturday 10 May. If you miss this run, you don't have the option to go back in time, so catch it while you can!

 "Secondary Case Of Death" by Peter Gordon.

Burton Joyce Players.

Burton Joyce and Bulcote Village Hall.

It’s 1939, and storm clouds are gathering over Europe. Having inherited Bagshot House, Colonel Charles Craddock has converted the property into a hotel for the discerning visitor. Soon Inspector Pratt arrives once again at Bagshot House, bearing grim news for the Colonel. But that’s just the beginning - Who is the strange Polish Count? Is Henrietta really an army captain? And where does the flamboyant thespian Cardew Longfellow fit into the picture? When Joan Maple’s sister Cynthia arrives to stage a murder mystery evening, it’s not long before Pratt’s visit turns into a chaotic nightmare as the bodies pile higher than ever!

The action of the play takes place in the library/sitting room of a country manor house in early Spring 1939.

This is the second in the Pratt trilogy of plays written by Peter Gordon, and having seen the first, and third, this production completed the trio for me.

Lady Isadora Pollock is played by Avril McCormack, and brings out the complexity of the character brilliantly. Her portrayal of the flirty American, as part of Miss Maple's staged murder/mystery role will leave you with a grin on your face as she attempts to seduce Count Puchlik.

Count Puchlik of Puszczykowo is played by Greg Nicholas. Now, knowing that when a playwright/author writes in a character which has a pretty bad accent; Puchlik is Polish, it normally means that the character is not all that he seems, but is that character necessarily a murderer, or has he other reasons for being at the Manor? Greg shows more than one accent in the play and convinced me of something that turned out to be incorrect in the end... clever!

Colonel Charles Craddock, is a retired Colonel who inherits Bagshot House and converts it into a hotel. Richard Fife plays Craddock as well as Cardew Longfellow, an actor who was drafted in as part of the staged murder/mystery play that Miss Maple had written for a bit of entertainment at Bagshot Manor. These kind of characters are played so well by Richard, and there's even a bit of stage magic which involves Richard within this play.... I won't say what but it left me with my mouth wide open and completely stumped!

Captain Henrietta Woolmer-Cardington is an ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) officer, and is played by Rebecca Kent. Another brilliant accent, but this play has so many twists and turns that you never really know if the character you see at the start is the character that you end up with at the end, and Rebecca managed to fool me completely, again I won't say how and why!

Cynthia Maple is played by Kathy Matthews, who reminded me visually of Geraldine McEwan in her Miss Marple role. Cynthia Maple brilliantly corrects Pratt at every turn, but how can you make a character with the name Pratt look even more stupid than he makes himself? Well, Cynthia Maple achieves it!

Martha Armstrong, the Manor's Housekeeper is played by Hannah Smith. Only a cameo part, but some of the smallest roles make the biggest of differences to a plot.

Lily Tuthill, the cook at Bagshot Manor is played by Jane Murray. This play is crammed with accents, and you know that I love accents, so this play is right up Accent Avenue for me. 

Nurse Ann Parsley is played by Tracey Evans. Parsley is there to tend to Craddock's ailments, but could you trust a nurse who smiles as much as Nurse Parsley, or is she just happy in her job? Not for long!

Inspector Pratt is played by Christopher Mercer. Now, I said that Richard Fife's character is perfect for Richard's acting skills, well here's another perfect stroke of casting. Pratt is the master of malapropism, and there are so many written in for Pratt that at times it's almost like a machine gun of malapropism firing at you. The script, for all the actors is wordy, and delivering script where the words are all wrong is so much more difficult to perform than a straight forward script. This one just shows what a memory for words Chris has because it's always more difficult to deliver something that is not naturally correct than to deliver the alternative. 

Chris is wonderful as Pratt vocally as well as physically, and just keep an eye on his facial expressions when he is not the focal point on stage. He delivers a masterclass in comic performance. 

Directed by Deborah Craddock. I have seen plays that Deborah has directed before, but this is one show that I will remember for a while. There are some very clever bits to note here, which shows that Deborah has paid great attention to. The meal at Bagshot Manor has to be at eight o clock, specifically requested by Miss Maple, and when Tuthill announces that Dinner is ready, for some reason I looked at the clock on the wall on the Burton Joyce Hall wall, and guess what time it was? You guessed it! And then there's that scene with the theatrical magic involved. I have an idea of how it was carried out but I couldn't see how it was done.... or could that be why I wasn't given my normal seats for this play? Mmmmm I wonder!

Kathy Matthews is the show's Producer.

Sound and Lighting is by Steve Armstrong and David Matthews. Both areas of production carried out without a hitch throughout.

Costumes by Jill Toogood, as well as members of the cast. There are some brilliant costumes in this production. Kathy's Marple costume instantly transformed her into the character. The Dinner Jackets provided the class. Avril's glamorous costume is a sparkly spectacle.

There are loads of props in this play as well, which again shows attention to detail and managed by Donna Atherton and Molly Fitches.

I loved the set design, which made me want to peruse the book shelves, of which there were several. A really glamorous and classy set for which I would love to credit someone for, but the Set Designer was not listed in the programme. Whoever you are, well done for a brilliant looking design.

I am absolutely useless at spotting whodunnit in these murder/mysteries, and yet again, I didn't guess who did it... at all. Wonderfully entertaining and that brilliant piece of live stage illusion, plus the comedy quality was the best. No wonder Peter Gordon plays are in such demand recently when the quality of the writing is this good. But don't forget, a script is just words on a page without the talents of the Director and the cast.

"Secondary Cause Of Death" is at Burton Joyce and Bulcote Village Hall until Saturday 3 May.