NYTimes.com: WHEN artists at the National Theater here began creating their World War I drama “War Horse” five years ago, they placed cardboard boxes over the heads of actors to imagine stand-ins for the show’s horse puppets, which were still being designed. “The whole thing looked a little nuts,” Nicholas Hytner, who was producing the work as artistic director of the National, recalled recently. “We had no idea what we were going to get.”
Thursday, September 08, 2011
National Theater Offers Hits, Including ‘War Horse’
NYTimes.com: WHEN artists at the National Theater here began creating their World War I drama “War Horse” five years ago, they placed cardboard boxes over the heads of actors to imagine stand-ins for the show’s horse puppets, which were still being designed. “The whole thing looked a little nuts,” Nicholas Hytner, who was producing the work as artistic director of the National, recalled recently. “We had no idea what we were going to get.”
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There is something to be said for theatre which begins in the United Kingdom. Quite a few of the most successful plays and musicals began in spaces much like the National before traveling to the United States. This causes me to question whether government funding truly does make the difference. Shows like Wat Horse are granted much more initial funding than many of if not all pieces produced in the United States. This allows the creation of theatre for pleasure. And when a group of people are able to create something they truly love and that they truly believe will effect others in the same genuine way, the art is stronger than when there is a commercial incentive. That is not to say that nothing beautiful ever appears in regional theatres or on Broadway. However, it is possibly more rare since financial concerns tend to be a greater reality.
Kassondra is very right about the type of theatre that arrives from England. To create theatre just for the pure art of creation is risky, but War Horse proves that with a whole lot of heart and dedication it is worth it in the end. So much of Broadway these days is clogged with names of Hollywood stars and bright flashy scenery. When you take a step back and look through all of this excess what is left tends to be weak. War Horse goes to show that amazing theatre can be produced and earn an incredible amount of money by simple retreating to the roots of theatre as it was intended to be hundreds of years ago.
War Horse is one of those shows that had the right combination of risk, luck, and assistance. It does say something, when it was written that they were financially free to do what they will with their show. The lack of pressure is also very impressive and can sometimes create an end product that is unlike anything else. There are definitely occasions where the end product is pushed by the media and financial burdens but this way seems much more organic. Mr. Hytner says that they, "never — not once — produced a show because we think there might be a commercial future for it, literally never,” and I think that this is a good attitude to live by. Part of making all these shows is to practice and to have that nice little learning curve in your back pocket. The way that shows have recently been pulling out all the stops, sometimes hurts the entire production. War Horse is an example of avoiding the crazy glitz and going for the crazy ideas and I'm looking forward to more of that.
War Horse has certainly made a name for itself, and bolstered the reputation of the National's work. Hopefully this will support the continued work of the national in light of the budgetary cuts. I enjoy that the National can produce good and successful work. And I know that their AD is adamant that this not be a trend in their producing. But I do hope that other theatre companies don't see this as a sign that they need to abandon the work they are trying to do to get something perhaps more commercially successful.
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