Evaluation of Play War Horse
An evaluation of the play ‘War Horse’, showing your understanding of the medium and elements used and your response.
On Monday the 21st of September I went to see the play ‘War Horse’ at the New London Theatre. The play was directed by Marianne Elliot and Tom Morris and is written about the novel ‘War Horse’ by Michael Morpurgo. The play is about a horse, Joey. He is sold to the English cavalry and is shipped off to France were we serves in WW1. His owner, Albert desperate not to lose Joey, enlists in the army despite the fact that he is under aged. Albert embarks on a treacherous journey on a quest to find Joey. The play is based upon the horse’s perspectives and views. War Horse is trying to emphasis the strong brutality of war, and what a waste it is. There were many themes in the play e.g. the play is trying to show the barbarity of war, and the futility of it. This is shown when the innocent horses are put against machinery knowing that they have no hope of surviving. As is shown in the first charge scene when the horses and soldiers all get brutally killed by a single machine gun. The themes also show how peoples are turned to misery as they are worries about their loved one, e.g. Albert and Emily are going through are hard time because of the war, Albert is very distressed about losing Joey, and Emily is upset about losing her two horses at the front line.
The stage set is a very minimalistic and representational. There are not many naturalistic items used. The only naturalistic parts in the play are linked with the horses, such as their reins, ploughs, buckets etc. There was a three-sided audience, which sat left right and centre. There are large wings for the entrance of the tank and the horses. The stage floor was painted many shades of grey and black. This was creating a textured effect and it represented the farm land in Devon, the dirty muddy trenches in France, and the sea. The set was a composite, e.g. the house was not fully shown, there was
On Monday the 21st of September I went to see the play ‘War Horse’ at the New London Theatre. The play was directed by Marianne Elliot and Tom Morris and is written about the novel ‘War Horse’ by Michael Morpurgo. The play is about a horse, Joey. He is sold to the English cavalry and is shipped off to France were we serves in WW1. His owner, Albert desperate not to lose Joey, enlists in the army despite the fact that he is under aged. Albert embarks on a treacherous journey on a quest to find Joey. The play is based upon the horse’s perspectives and views. War Horse is trying to emphasis the strong brutality of war, and what a waste it is. There were many themes in the play e.g. the play is trying to show the barbarity of war, and the futility of it. This is shown when the innocent horses are put against machinery knowing that they have no hope of surviving. As is shown in the first charge scene when the horses and soldiers all get brutally killed by a single machine gun. The themes also show how peoples are turned to misery as they are worries about their loved one, e.g. Albert and Emily are going through are hard time because of the war, Albert is very distressed about losing Joey, and Emily is upset about losing her two horses at the front line.
The stage set is a very minimalistic and representational. There are not many naturalistic items used. The only naturalistic parts in the play are linked with the horses, such as their reins, ploughs, buckets etc. There was a three-sided audience, which sat left right and centre. There are large wings for the entrance of the tank and the horses. The stage floor was painted many shades of grey and black. This was creating a textured effect and it represented the farm land in Devon, the dirty muddy trenches in France, and the sea. The set was a composite, e.g. the house was not fully shown, there was