Horses with Strings Attached

These incredible photos are from the New York Times article about the play that is packing them in in London, War Horse. It is the story of a British boy named Albert whose horse Joey is sold to a British officer during world War I. Albert is heart-broken at losing his best friend and he enlists, hoping to track down Joey. I won't give away the ending but suffice it to say the Times reports there are few dry eyes when the final curtain goes down.

Aside from the magic of the story, there is the incredible magic of the puppets that bring the horses in the story to life. Each horse requires two puppeteers to manipulate it, one inside and one outside, many of whom undergo incredible physical stress to make the horses come to life. Most receive deep tissue massage once or twice a week and many have been to physical therapy. Yet few would trade their jobs for the privilege of making the horses come to life.

"In my audition, I was quite awestruck at being able to even touch Joey," says Laura Cubitt, who is in charge of the horse's hind legs and tail. "Becoming part of him, I just feel a huge responsibility to make him fully alive."

Another, Finn Caldwell, who plays another horse's chest, legs and breathing motions (yes, they breathe) puts it this way: "when you give so much physically, when your knuckles are bleeding, when you have to commit to the pain you have to ask yourself, 'What is it for?' I know what it's for. I love these horses."

Makes me want to fly to London to see for myself but plans are afoot to bring the show to Broadway in 2011. If you can't hold out that long, you might want to check out these additional photos, also from the Times.