THE INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed National Theatre tour of ‘War Horse’ arrived in Bristol for the final shows of its UK and Ireland tour last night, and the buzz surrounding its arrival was almost palpable.

Unlike many others in the audience, I have never read the book, seen the film, or even the West End show and so I arrived with zero expectations but very high hopes, especially for the life-sized horses, handmade by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company.

But War Horse is a ‘puppet show’ like no either. Immense effort has gone into making the horses on stage as realistic as possible, and together with incredible lighting and sound it takes virtually no time before you are no longer marvelling at the bamboo and flimsy fabric creations on stage and instead actually ‘seeing’ the war horses in action.

Based on Michael Morpurgo’s novel, Nick Stafford’s adaptation tells the story of Joey, a horse who was sent to War, and his owner Alfred, who follows him through the battlefields of the Somme in a seemingly futile attempt to find him and bring him home. The themes explored in ‘War Horse’ are too numerous to mention; from the family disputes of the early plot to the desecration and horror of the Great War, as well as the intense relationships that can build up between horse and human. But none of these aspects really counts on its own. The best way to enjoy War Horse is not to focus on any single aspect of the show and instead zoom out and see the whole story.

The real stars of this show are, without a doubt, the puppeteers who bring the ‘horses’ to life. Every nuance is so realistic - the breathing foal, the twitching tail and the flailing limbs on the battlefield. If you know your horses (as I do), it’s a concept that’s almost impossible to believe; the essence of all things equine.

And what a superb cast! The actors involved in the show all have an integral part to play in making it work, not a single one putting a foot wrong. Special mention must, of course, go to Lee Armstrong as Albert Narrocott, who would go to the ends of the Earth for his beloved Joey, and Martin Wenner as the humane, horse-loving German Friedrich Muller. Steven Hillman and Karen Henthorn are also brilliant as the parents - Ted, the drunk who gambles his mortgage money to buy Joey in the first place, and his long-suffering wife Rose.

For me, another outstanding aspect of the performance was the folk singing which punctuated the performance and really bound the show together – a show thoroughly deserving of its spontaneous standing ovation at the end.

There is surprisingly little sentimentality here, instead the production concentrates on the nobility of the horse and the horror (and futility) of war. There is a happy ending to this story, but for hundreds of thousands of horses – and men – who got sent to the battlefields of Europe to fight in the Great War there was no ‘ever after’.

So, how can giant puppets move so many in the audience to tears? Well, I guess you had better grab one of the last remaining tickets available for the Bristol Hippodrome shows, come along and find out for yourself.

War Horse is at the Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday, February 14.