Adapting War Horse : Cognition, the Spectator, and a Sense of Play

This book analyses the success and adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s novel __War Horse__ to stage, radio, live events, and feature film, in different cultures, on tours, and in translation. In under a decade, __War Horse__ has gone from obscure children’s novel to arguably one of the world’s most recognisable theatrical brands, thanks to innovative puppet designs from South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company in an acclaimed stage production from the National Theatre of Great Britain. With emphasis on embodied spectatorship, collaborative meaning-making, and imaginative ‘play,’ this book generates fresh insights into the enduring popularity of the franchise’s eponymous protagonist, Joey, offering the most in-depth study of __War Horse__ to date. This book analyses the success and adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel War Horse to stage, radio, live events, and feature film, in different cultures, on tours, and in translation. In under a decade, War Horse has gone from obscure children's novel to arguably one of the world's most recognisable theatrical brands, thanks to innovative puppet designs from South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company in an acclaimed stage production from the National Theatre of Great Britain. With emphasis on embodied spectatorship, collaborative meaning-making, and imaginative 'play, ' this book generates fresh insights into the enduring popularity of the franchise's eponymous protagonist, Joey, offering the most in-depth study of War Horse to date. Toby Malone is a graduate of the University of Toronto's Graduate Centre for Study of Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies, and is currently a faculty member at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Previous publications include Shakespeare Survey, Literature/Film Quarterly, Canadian Theatre Review, Borrowers and Lenders and The Routledge Companion to Dramaturgy. Christopher J. Jackman is a graduate of the University of Toronto's Graduate Centre for Study of Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies, and is an alumnus of Massey College, Canada. He is currently Chair of Arts and Design at Centennial College in Toronto, has developed Centennial's performing arts certificate programme, and remains an active director and performer "Dedication"--"Acknowledgements"--"Contents " -- "About the Authors" -- "List of Figures " -- "Chapter 1: Introduction: Playing the War Horse Game" -- "Why War Horse?" -- "Chapter 2: â#x80;#x9C;We Get to Know Himâ#x80;#x9D;" -- "Adapting the (un)Familiar" -- "Joey â#x80;#x9C;In the Fleshâ#x80;#x9D;" -- "TED Horse" -- "Joey on the Radio" -- "Joey on Screen: Embodiment" -- "National Theatre Live: Mediated Stagecraft" -- "Chapter 3: â#x80;#x9C;Making Fitâ#x80;#x9D;" -- " World Creation and Possible-Worlds" -- " Joeyâ#x80;#x99;s World" -- "Chapter 4: Spectatorship as Embodied Practice" -- "Modelling Object Perception" -- "Modelling Social Perception" -- "Interaction in Performance" -- "Chapter 5: Animated Horse Play" -- "Finishing the Horse: Embodied Synthesis of Aspectual Percepts" -- "Minding the Gap Between What Is and Is Not" -- "Extensions and Implications of Synergic Play" -- "A Theory of Optimal Discrepancy in Play" -- "Chapter 6: Emotional Promises" -- "Joey, Public Commodity" -- "Chapter 7: Tour Horse" -- "GefÃÞhrten: New Ground" -- "Making Strange" -- "Afterword: Levels of Immersion" -- "Works Cited." Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction: Playing the War Horse Game....Pages 1-7 “We Get to Know Him”....Pages 9-28 “Making Fit”....Pages 29-38 Spectatorship as Embodied Practice....Pages 39-49 Animated Horse Play....Pages 51-65 Emotional Promises....Pages 67-77 Tour Horse....Pages 79-96 Back Matter....Pages 97-113