So this weekend the mother came down to visit - just one of the fun things we did was see War Horse at the National Theatre. 

Similar to when me and mum went to see Miss Saigon earlier on in the year, we decided to rise early to try to get day tickets for the Saturday matinee showing of War Horse as the play had been recommended by one of my patients. 

There was less of a queue outside the theatre than last time and day tickets were just £15! Being first in the queue, we actually got tickets sitting together this time and right on the front row.

The play which is based on a book by Michael Morpungo (and has also been adapted into film) is the story of the relationship between a boy and his horse. During the first world world the horse gets sold into the military so the boy, Albert, enlists into the army in order to find him. 

The life-size animal puppets were truly incredible - at times you would forget that the horses trotting about on stage were not real. My favourite was the goose which was hilarious. I never knew humans could make such good impersonations of horse or goose noises!

The performance was very interactive with the actors running down the aisles, sitting on the edges of the stage  or underneath the stage as if they were in trenches. I was expecting more a musical, but the few songs that were performed were not by specific characters, but more of a score for the play to be performed. 

I have not actually read the book or seen the film as I felt a bit sceptical about the storyline, but I think seeing those puppets on stage has really changed my mind and I would definitely recommend it!

For more information, see the War Horse website. 

Have you seen War Horse? Would you recommend it? What are your thoughts about the show? Please leave your comments in the section below!