I am sadly less impressed with War Horse than I wanted to be. And I did want to be! It’s obviously not a new play at this point, was well regarded at the time, and I’m aware that I’m seeing this as a touring production down the line and - with no offense intended to the touring company - that does potentially leave a certain gap between it and the original. The direction and puppetry are both impressive - there is a thoughtfulness to the staging, and it is always incredible how quickly you stop seeing the puppets as puppets and start seeing horses instead. But there are some pockets of pretty abysmal writing and acting: at one point, as bells ring in the town square in an otherwise bucolic scene, someone exposits “You know what that means: the German kaiser has refused to withdraw troops from Belgium”. I mean, bleak. It lost a lot of narrative momentum in the second half, becoming oddly unfocused. But! The final moments are incredible effective (although this is very much a “hitting my direct trigger” thing (see A Monster Calls)), so I will give it that. Nonetheless, though, a shame.