WAR HORSE Opens 10th Anniversary Tour Tonight at The Marlowe Theatre; Will Return in 2019

As War Horse opens its 10th Anniversary Tour tonight (3 October) at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, it is announced that due to demand, the National Theatre's critically-acclaimed production will return to the venue from 27 February - 16 March 2019.

Michael Morpurgo said: "In September 2017 War Horse began an extensive UK Tour, at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. And thereby hangs a tale or two. My mother and father were acting in rep at The Marlowe in 1938. I believe it was where they fell in love and decided to get married. They were young, and no doubt full of hope for the future. The Second World War was to blight their lives. I grew up in a family scarred by war. This was, I am sure, why I came to write War Horse all those years ago, why peace and war have been at the heart of so many stories I have written before and since. I am so pleased this return engagement in Canterbury is happening; that so many more people will have the chance to enjoy this unique theatrical event. Steady boy, steady Joey. Trot on!"

On returning to the Marlowe Theatre Kash Bennett, producer for National Theatre Productions said: "Opening our 10th Anniversary Tour at The Marlowe Theatre has been a fantastic experience; a real collaboration between The Marlowe and the NT. We're delighted that we'll be bringing the show back in 2019 to give audiences another opportunity to introduce this beloved show to a whole new generation of theatre-goers, and for returning audiences to revisit Michael Morpurgo's beautiful story."

War Horse, which has been seen by over seven million people worldwide, completed its record-breaking eight-year London run at the New London Theatre on 12 March 2016. It has won 25 awards including the Tony Award for Best Play on Broadway. Directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, Nick Stafford's adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's remarkable story of courage, loyalty and friendship, about a young boy called Albert and his horse Joey, is set against the backdrop of the First World War. It features ground-breaking puppetry work by South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company, which brings breathing, galloping horses to live on stage.

War Horse received its world premiere on 9 October 2007 at the National Theatre, where it played for two seasons before opening at the New London Theatre in March 2009. Since then, War Horse has been seen in 97 cities in 10 countries, including productions on Broadway, in Toronto and Berlin, with touring productions in the UK and Ireland, North America, the Netherlands, Belgium and China.

War Horse 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 for 59 Productions, songmaker John Tams, music by Adrian Sutton and sound by Christopher Shutt.

Katie Henry is the revival director and Craig Leo is the associate puppetry director. They are joined by resident puppetry director, Matthew Forbes and resident director, Charlotte Peters.

The tour of War Horse coincides with the Centenary commemorations of the end of the First World War and follows the production's sold-out tour of the UK and Ireland in 2013-2014. War Horse is produced on tour by the National Theatre.

Tickets for War Horse 2019 at The Marlowe Theatre are priced from £19.25 to £60.75 (concessions available), and are on sale to Marlowe Friends from today (Tuesday) and the general public on Tuesday 17 October. The show will be audio described, captioned and signed. For more details and to book, go to marlowetheatre.com, or call the Box Office on 01227 787787.

At the National Theatre, we make world-class theatre that is entertaining, challenging and inspiring, and we make it for everyone. In 2016-2017, the NT staged 26 productions and gave 2,585 performances at our home on the South Bank.

The work the National Theatre produces appeals to the widest possible audiences with new plays, musicals, re-imagined classics and new work for young audiences. The NT's work is seen in the West End, on tour throughout the UK and internationally, and in collaborations and co-productions with partners across the country. Through NT Live, we broadcast some of the best of British theatre to over 2,000 venues in 60 countries around the world.

The NT's award-winning programme had a UK paying audience of 1.8 million, 400,000 of which were NT Live audiences.

Our extensive Learning programme offers talks, events and workshops for people of all ages, and reaches nationwide through programmes such as Connections, our annual festival of new plays for schools and youth theatres. In 2016-2017 there were 196,826 participations through the NT Learning events programme. Over 3,000 schools have signed up to the free streaming service, On Demand In Schools, since its launch in September 2015.

Visit nationaltheatre.org.uk for more information.

Photo Credit: Brinkhoff / Mögenburg

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