Morpurgo’s intelligent, heartfelt narrative follows the journeys through the war of both Joey, a fine Devonshire horse, and his young master, Albert. The NT’s staging of it is deservedly famous for its extraordinary, life-sized horse puppets. However, the production’s greatest achievement is that its grand theatre technologies (including unusually effective stage projections) always serve, rather than overwhelm, the story.

Morpurgo’s tale, in which Joey is a rare equine survivor of the folly of cavalry charges into barbed wire and machine-gun fire, opens into a German experience of the war which is every bit as brutal and pitiless as that of the British. The pathos and reconciliatory intent of the novel are realised powerfully on a cleverly minimalist set by way of painful ensemble scenes, touching songs (by John Tams) and brilliant moments of horse choreography.

Morpurgo’s intelligent, heartfelt narrative follows the journeys through the war of both Joey, a fine Devonshire horse, and his young master, Albert. The NT’s staging of it is deservedly famous for its extraordinary, life-sized horse puppets. However, the production’s greatest achievement is that its grand theatre technologies (including unusually effective stage projections) always serve, rather than overwhelm, the story.

Morpurgo’s tale, in which Joey is a rare equine survivor of the folly of cavalry charges into barbed wire and machine-gun fire, opens into a German experience of the war which is every bit as brutal and pitiless as that of the British. The pathos and reconciliatory intent of the novel are realised powerfully on a cleverly minimalist set by way of painful ensemble scenes, touching songs (by John Tams) and brilliant moments of horse choreography.