WAR HORSE (UK Tour) Birmingham Hippodrome Press Launch and Interview with Toby Olié

Today tickets for the National Theatre's acclaimed production of War Horse went on sale for the show's run at the Birmingham Hippodrome from 16th October - 9th November 2013.

Chris Harper with Joey outside the Birmingham Hippodrome

Introducing War Horse was National Theatre producer Chris Harper. "As someone who was born in Stourbridge and started my career at the Birmingham Hippodrome, I am particularly excited to bring War Horse home."

War Horse is the powerful story of a young boy called Albert and his beloved horse Joey who has been requisitioned to fight for the English at war. Joey finds himself serving on both sides during the war and ends up in No-Man's Land. Albert, not old enough to enlist, embarks on a treacherous mission to find his horse and bring him home. The production which premiered at the Royal National Theatre in 2007 transferred to the New London Theatre in 2009 and has since played to audiences on Broadway, in Toronto and Melbourne and is now set to tour the UK whilst continuing to play to packed houses in London.

Toby Olié explaining the workings of horse Joey

Introducing us to the horse Joey was Associate Puppetry Director Toby Olié. A self confessed puppet enthusiast, Toby has been keen since the age of six, inspired by Sesame Street and a love for both drama and art. Toby trained in puppetry at London's Central School of Speech and Drama in which he was the only student in his year to study the discipline. Toby joined the original cast of War Horse as Joey's hind legs before operating Joey's head in the subsequent West End transfer of the production. He became an Associate Puppetry Director for the show in 2011. 

The puppets were designed and made in South Africa by the Handspring Puppet Company. Toby explained that the main body of the horse is cane that has been soaked giving it the flexibility to be shaped. The aim of the puppet is to be completely naturalistic yet suggestive of something more deconstructed. These are puppets and War Horse makes no attempt to hide that, but what they do ensure is that you see a completely believable representation of a horse. You can see just how realistically Joey moves in the video below. 

Speaking to Toby, he was able to give a fascinating insight from someone who has been with the production since the beginning. I was particularly interested to find out more about the puppets themselves, and the processes actors have to go through in order to bring the horses to life. 

"To warm up we find that Pilates and yoga based exercises are much more effective than simply working-out in a gym. For the operators it's much better to be relaxed than pumped and aching, otherwise the energy just isn't there. Before I first started with the company I didn't for one minute think I'd get the job because I was skinny and not a muscular guy. It's a lot more about concentration though, and being able to channel a horse's instincts. We tell the puppeteers not to focus too much on the script but to think as a horse and react to what's happening around them. We work closely with real horses and at a riding school in Epsom to ensure that we are extremely familiar with the horse's movement and behaviour."

Last year I was the puppeteer for a production of Little Shop of Horrors and after a two-hour show inside a giant plant I was completely exhausted. I was keen to know whether I'm just unfit, or if War Horse puppeteers felt the same. 

"It is completely exhausting.  As a puppeteer, not only are you operating the horse but making all of the noises too! We are trotting, running and neighing for the entire show and aside from the interval we only have two five minute breaks offstage. The operating is all encompassing and at times we have actors sitting on top of the horse riding it. None of the weight is ever put onto the legs of the puppet and at all times pressure is taken through the bodies of the puppeteers."

"The puppets are a Westernised inspiration of Japanese Bunraku puppetry and are always evolving and as great as they are, there are always things to improve. I lost a hoof in the middle of a scene once - they're a lot more secure now! The first prototype puppets lasted for just one week of workshops. They were much bulkier and needed a lot of improving, although the look has remained pretty similar. It takes us about ten months to make a completely new set of puppets and repairs are made as and when necessary."

The original designs for Joey

After taking part in a puppet workshop for Avenue Q last year I learnt that old and part-worn puppets that are no longer practical in the production are recycled for use during the rehearsal process and are not wasted. I wanted to know if this was the same for the horses.

"The puppeteers get used to working with the same puppets and so we tend to repair.  We like to use a new set of puppets for each company and those puppets stay with them. The London production are still using puppets from 2007, we've built an entirely new set for the upcoming tour, so come along and see them in action."

Tickets for War Horse at the Birmingham Hippodrome are now on sale via the website: http://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/whatson_focus.asp?showid=1769

You can also visit the official website for the production here:

http://www.warhorseonstage.com

THE LION KING (UK Tour) Birmingham Hippodrome Press Launch

After hosting Beauty And The Beast and Mary Poppins in previous years, Disney's The Lion King is finally coming to the Birmingham Hippodrome as part of a UK/Ireland tour with the London production still going strong after 13 years at the Lyceum Theatre.

The launch event was held at the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham and guests were treated to a canapé reception before the main presentation. I was very fortunate enough to be Disney's guest. The event provided a behind the scenes look on the creation of Disney's smash hit.

Disney Theatrical Productions director of Marketing and Creative, Steven Crocker, lead a fascinating presentation informing over 200 invited guests of how the story of The Lion King made it from screen to stage. The presentation began with a performance of "The Circle Of Life" lead by Gugwana Dlamini (UK/Ireland Tour Cast) as Rafiki accompanied by the Birmingham Gospel Choir. The music and lyrics of Elton John and Tim Rice are just perfect. The initial performance alone was enough to wet appetites but there was plenty more to come. There were also performances from Jonathan Andrew Hume and Ava Brennan -  the London cast's Simba and Nala.

Ava Brennan, Johnathan Andrew Hume and Gugwana Dlamini pose for the press photographers.

A great deal of the presentation was devoted to Julie Taymor. Not only did she design the costumes, but the masks too, co-designed the puppets, added additional lyrics to the show and to top it off - directed it. There were masks for Simba, Nala, Mufasa and Scar on display with the puppet of Zazu. The inspiration behind each mask has a specific relevance to the character. Stephen Crocker explained that the mask for Mufasa for example, has a circular mane and is very obviously circular in design because he is at the centre of the circle of life. The performers faces are never hidden and this is known as the 'Double Event'. The incredible performance given by the actor is most visible through their face and the mask shouldn't hide or restrict this. The mask sits on top of the actors head to ensure the lion element of the costume design is not lost. The costumes the actors wear are not "lion suits" and without the mask they do not distinctly represent a lion. They are most unlike the obvious animalistic costumes in the musical Cats. Instead the actors wear costumes that again represent the characteristics of their lion and feature traditional African print material and are decorated with beads.

Julie Taymor's costume design for the adult Simba.

The smaller characters in the show such as Timon the Meerkat and Zazu the Hornbill are represented using other methods. The Japanese style of Bunraku puppetry brings Timon to life with his puppeteer disguised as the grass. Zazu is also a puppet and sometimes flies on a wire and at times is hand-operated with his puppeteer disguised as the sky. The video below shows Crocker demonstrating how the puppet for Zazu operates.

Not only are the costumes loyal to the shows African routes - the script is too, with a lot of traditional African chanting in Zulu, Swahili and Sotho to name a few. Lebo M is the mastermind behind the sound of the Pride Lands. Rafiki, the shaman Baboon has perhaps the hardest job as seen here :

The show has a cast of 50, with a further 100 people working backstage to make a team of 150 involved with the show at any one performance. The cast is made up of people from 17 different countries. The show is touring the UK and Ireland as well as other productions of it currently touring the US, on Broadway and in Tokyo, Hamburg, Sapporo and Madrid.

Simba and Nala: Can You Feel The Love Tonight

The Lion King at the Birmingham Hippodrome is the reason why you should visit Birmingham throughout the summer of 2013. With 200,000 tickets now on sale for the run that spans June, July, August and September, this is the theatrical event that is definitely not to be missed.

You can book tickets for The Lion King at the Birmingham Hippodrome in 2013 here.