Joey, The Equine Star of War Horse, Takes Part In Chinese New Year Celebrations In Trafalgar Square

Posted on 31 January 2014

2014 is the Year of the Horse, and Joey, the life-size puppet-horse and star of the National Theatre’s production of War Horse, is making a special on-stage appearance at the Chinese New Year celebrations in Trafalgar Square on Sunday 2 February.  The appearance will be part of the day’s finale just before 6pm.

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 British in World War I. Caught in enemy crossfire, Joey ends up serving on both sides during the war before landing in No Man’s Land, while Albert, not old enough to enlist, embarks on a treacherous mission to find his horse and bring him home.  A remarkable tale of courage, loyalty and friendship, the stage production of War Horse features ground-breaking puppetry work by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, which brings breathing and galloping horses to life on stage.

The puppeteers are: Matthew Forbes (Joey Head), Tom Wilton (Joey Heart) and Michael Brett (Joey Hind).  They will be joined by Jack Holden as Albert. 

Adapted by Nick Stafford from Michael Morpurgo’s best-selling novel, War Horse is now in its seventh year in London and is running to packed houses at the New London Theatre in the West EndWar Horse has been seen by over 4.6 million worldwide, is directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, designed by Rae Smith, with puppet direction, design and fabrication by Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler for Handspring Puppet Company, lighting by Paule Constable, and movement and horse choreography by Toby Sedgwick, with video design by Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer, songmaker John Tams, music by Adrian Sutton and sound byChristopher Shutt.  War Horse received its world premiere at the National Theatre in October 2007.