Horses at War

If you are going to go to the theatre over Christmas, forget the plethora of musicals that dominate the West End, and go and see War Horse at the National Theatre. I consider it to be one of the finest productions that the National has ever mounted, and the cheering at the end left me in no doubt that everyone in the theatre felt the same way as me. The story is set in the first World War but it's not about the soldiers, the officers or even Britain at the time, it's about the horses that were sent to war, and two in particular. When the curtain came down, the applause was not just for the two main actors - both unknown to me, both quite outstanding - but for the six men and two women who had worked the horses; they are best described as puppeteers, but I can tell you that because of their superb skills, you become convinced they are real horses on the battlefields.

There are some amazing productions on in London at the moment which are clearly important in British theatre - Patrick Stewart's Macbeth at the Gielgud, sold out, Ewan McGregor in Othello at the Donmar, sold out, Ian McKellen's Lear at the New London Theatre, sold out. I will have the privilege of seeing Lear and Othello on Monday and Wednesday next week and will report on both, but I have to say that they are going to have to be wholly exceptional to stop me making War Horse my play of the year.