ENGINEERING MOVEMENT SOCIETY ENGINEERING The award-winning theatre production War Horse is now on a West End run – MOVEMENT after a sell-out season at the National Theatre. Michael Morpurgo’s story and the ‘believability’ of the horse puppets have helped make it a stage hit. Adrian Kohler, one of the founders of Handspring Productions, created the horses and writes for Ingenia about the engineering behind War Horse. The 2004 Handspring production towards machine guns where Tall Horse was still playing at Joey’s rider is shot out of his the Baxter Theatre in Cape saddle, after which the horse Town when we had a visit from is taken by the German Army. representatives of London’s Albert joins up under age and National Theatre. Associate searches for his horse for the Director Tom Morris and duration of the war. Miraculously, Executive Director Nick Starr at the armistice, when both have came to see our show, based been badly battered, they on the real-life journey of a find each other. giraffe from Africa to Paris in the My immediate response 19th century and using a five was positive: an epic love story metre tall puppet controlled by with a happy ending where one puppeteers on stilts. We began of the leading characters is a imagining that the ‘Beautiful puppet horse. We had made African’ would be invited to play a good giraffe; surely a horse a season in London. should be just as feasible? Three months of silence passed after Tom’s visit to us in EQUINE South Africa, then he phoned REQUIREMENTS me at our base in Kalk Bay, Cape The horses would need to be Town. He had found a novel larger than life-sized, able to that could possibly become contain two puppeteers and a vehicle for puppets and he carry a rider on their backs, and, outlined the story of War Horse most importantly of all, move by Michael Morpurgo. so realistically that the audience Albert, a boy on a farm, would immediately empathise brings up a foal, Joey, that with them and consider them his drunken father bought by to be just as engaging as the mistake. The First World War human actors beside them – breaks out and the father sells if not more so. the horse to the British Army. Theatre with puppets in The horrors of the war are told the UK has carried a stigma for from the horse’s vantage point, many years. At European theatre including a cavalry charge War Horse has been a hit both at the National Theatre and at the New London Theatre, Drury festivals we would hear English Lane. By the summer of 2009 the horses had taken to the stage 300 times © Simon Annand 26 INGENIA INGENIA ISSUE 40 SEPTEMBER 2009 27 ENGINEERING MOVEMENT SOCIETY puppet companies complain the National Theatre’s prop Sitting high up on the balcony looking down The spine itself is similar to to each other by an axle. If this to move through at least 180 that audiences at home were department, was seconded to that of a real horse because it axle were not fixed but given the degrees, pointing forward they put off by the ‘P’ word. But Nick us and together we made quick on these ‘horses’ trotting around, one could had to carry cables to control freedom to move up and down show interest, pointing backwards Hytner, with his adaptation mock-ups of horse heads and the flicking of the tail, while in a slot, the ‘heart’ manipulator, they indicate fear or alarm, and to of Philip Pullman’s His Dark necks out of torn cardboard feel that the stage seemed built for them. possessing a slight flexibility who is attached to the spine the side they show attentiveness. Materials and, of course, the and shredded newspaper. On a In its bare state it was like a circus ring, an to arch realistically during the above by the backpack, would, The solution came to me early effervescent puppetry of the day when the Olivier stage was moments when the horse would with the front legs resting one morning: mount the ears on Lion King, were starting to make completely clear, we were able ancient Roman arena. rear up on its hind legs. Cables passively on the ground, be able short vertical axles, around which puppets acceptable to a range to take these and a complete were run through discs all the to make the rib cage go up and would be wound a cable, with a of audiences. life-sized cardboard horse body way down the back, made of down simply by bending and spring to pull the axle back into A first workshop was held onto the vast round stage. plywood to keep it lightweight. straightening their knees. The place and rewind the string. The with a try-out writer and a group Sat high up on the balcony The design of the tail up-and-down replaces the more manipulating finger may only of actors. Among them was looking down on these ‘horses’ movement also lay in accurate side-to-side, but it is pull through 90 degrees, but the Toby Sedgwick, who would trotting around, one could feel understanding the anatomy of a more effective because you can shorter circumference of the axle become the choreographer, that the stage seemed built for real horse. The spine of a horse see it. No extra hand controls are would give double that for the ear. and Mervyn Millar, who would them. In its bare state it was like extends almost half way down needed. Just the knees. This was my ‘Eureka’ moment. recruit the many excellent a circus ring, an ancient Roman its tail and that’s why the animal This ear movement, I’ve since puppeteers. Alan Edwards, from arena. can flick its tail so decisively. discovered, is a very old watch- This ‘spine tip’ is highly flexible EXPRESSIVE making piece of technology. and controlled by several lateral movement The construction of the horse puppets was closely based on real horse The ear movement would be the physiology and movement © Adrian Kohler tendons. We mimicked these the front and back puppeteers, with bicycle brake cables, which, next major challenge. While it Starting GAIT raising and lowering the leg when pulled by a lever at the may seem a trivial aspect of the Back in Cape Town I built a and pulling them inward for a back, would flick the tail up and complex puppets these horses working cardboard scale model horse-like bend. down and side-to-side. would become, the control and of Joey. The anatomy of the Of course horses move movement of the ears would horse’s legs and those of the elegantly by placing their feet lead to a major breakthrough for humans inside it would not on the same spot towards the Catching me – one that had taken me 25 correspond with each other as middle of their bodies. A rubber THE breath years to find. The result would they had done with the giraffe in joint connecting the legs to The breathing action of any be crucial to the theatre piece. Tall Horse (where the puppeteer’s the body allowed five degrees puppet helps to create the As theatre-goers have told me legs, standing on stilts, became of movement, which gave the illusion of life and while since, one of the moments they the giraffe legs). Now there puppeteers the freedom to observing real horses breathing buy into the believability of the would be eight legs under the place the legs in an elegant, hard after physical exertion, the horses is when the ears swivel horse and not four. But the hands equine motion. problem of representing this back when Joey panics. of the puppeteers would be in looked daunting. The rib cage For the horses’ ears to give close proximity to the puppet of the animal expanded and life to the puppets, they had legs and therefore available for Back to FRONT contracted out sideways; even strong, hands-on manipulation, Over the next four months, if I could hinge the rib cage at so the legs had the potential to a horse with the potential of the spine on either side and be highly articulated. being ridden started to take develop a means of rhythmically The construction of the shape. For the spine, I enlisted manipulating it outwards and legs is very similar to an actual the help of Mark Laubser, a inwards, the payback would be horse’s. We had studied horse specialist aluminium welder who minimal. Looking at the animal physiology and movement to normally builds boats. The two head-on you would see the get the curl of the hooves and puppeteers inside would each movement but seen in profile legs as realistic as possible. The strap on a backpack and above it would be hardly noticeable. passive movement of the legs their heads the backpacks would And our horses would be seen relies on ‘tendons’ (made of be attached to this bridging mainly in profile. strong wire) on either side of spine, made strong enough to The solution proved to be The puppeteer ‘breathes’ for the horse by bending his legs. The front legs rest each leg which are pulled and take a human rider and high on the ground whilst the chest is operated by the backpack attached to the very simple. As in a motorcar, puppeteer’s shoulders and trunk. The front leg axle moves in a slot mounted relaxed by levers controlled by enough to protect their heads .