Three puppeteers who bring War Horse to life around the world
The trio of performers who bring the awe-inspiring War Horse to life on the stage have been travelling the world to perform the Michael Morpurgo story of a farm boy’s love for his horse for two-and-a- half years.
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They’re the unsung heroes of the stage play tear-jerker, War Horse.
Without them the central character of Joey would be nothing but a pile of cane, aluminium, leather and fabric.
No wonder Tom Quinn, Lewis Howard and Sam Parker are proud of being the performers who bring Joey to life as the awe-inspiring horse that has wowed audiences in 13 countries so far.
All three actors have been travelling with War Horse — the Michael Morpurgo story of a farm boy’s love for his horse — for two-and-a- half years. With their rigorous physical training and deep-dive equine research, they’ve turned into a single being whenever they’re on the stage.
“We have a backpack on, attached to two metal bars attached to the puppet,” Howard said. “We’re also attached to each other. You can feel the tiniest sensation. If Sam wants us to turn to the left, I’ll feel it in my right shoulder.”
Joey weighs about 50kg. He has around 20 major joints. Vertical levers curl his knees and lift his hoofs, allowing this magnificent beast to rear and gallop and kick.
Amazingly, none of the three were horsey before War Horse.
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Once part of the cast, however, they were given riding lessons as well as access to the production’s vast equestrian library.
Quinn, a 28-year-old from Birmingham, operates Joey’s head and is fascinated by how eloquently horses communicate with their ears. Quinn moves Joey’s ears with levers and bicycle brake cables.
Howard, 29, who grew up in Cornwall, has seen all the puppeteers develop super fitness.
“We all say the best practise for the show is the show itself,” he said.
They’ve all built muscle according to their position they take with Joey — the head, the heart or the hind, as the different places are known in War Horse parlance.
“Tom is the strongest, he’s all shoulders,” Howard said. Parker, 30, of Bristol, operates Joey’s “hind”.
For the lads, the quest to refine Joey’s behaviour never ends.
If a horse comes on television, they find themselves “transfixed” by what it’s doing.
“It’s fun to add things to our armoury,” Parker said.
Quinn, Howard and Parker make up one of four teams of War Horse puppeteers.
Like the rest of the cast, they leave the Sydney Lyric Theatre on March 15 with a special fundraising performance for RSL DefenceCare.
A bucket — presumably a feed bucket — will be at the exits after the show.