War Horse (2014) - full transcript
When I started working at the National Theatre in 2004
I knew that I wanted Handspring Puppets to work here
And so we were reading various stories
to try and work out what might be another show
Tom Morris
Co-Director
It was War Horse, it was an extraordinary story
I immediately thought:
Handspring Puppet Com an
Cape Town, South Africa
When I started working at the National Theatre in 2004
I knew that I wanted Handspring Puppets to work here
And so we were reading various stories
to try and work out what might be another show
And my mum said to me,
'Have you read the one...
It was War Horse, it was an extraordinary story
I immediately thought:
...could create that definitive puppet
that is going to play a leading role
The first workshop we came to was when
the project was still very much a question mark
There were difficulties in adapting
a novel about the war to the stage
out of shredded newspaper
and cardboard
The workshop participants were released onto
the completely bare Olivier stage one afternoon
And pranced around, and from up on the gallery
the stage looked absolutely ideal
It's of a brisk young ploughboy,
He was ploughing on the plaln
It was down in yonder shade, he went whistling to plough,
And by chance there he met a pretty maid
and breath with the object
Very often you're working as a team
The only way that you can really communicate
with other people who are operating together
with you on the same object is through breath
And we were always told
by the Directors Tom and Marianne
, that the horses need to be horses,
they're not supposed to be well behaved
They must always remain animals,
and animals are unpredictable
Throughout the period of the First World War
there was a huge amount of technology
Production process was being radicalised
making armaments and stuffing them
into the front lines and trenches
...like the Futurists, who
saw the possibility of war...
...as cleansing the
dusty old dry orders
When it came to Britain
we had the Vorticists
Basically I realised that the Vorticist
and Expressionist paintings of people like Nash
The fragmented
and fractured environments...
...and strangely surreal and
inhuman landscapes that they painted...
seemed to represent more the individual
soldiers' experience of being in the war
Here we have the beginning of the idea
of the torn paper out of the sketch book...
which young Albert tak es to war with him
These are Nicholls' initial drawings
of July 1914 of rural Devon
Little sketches of the townscape and close ups,
the kind of thing he'd be working or thinking through
The influence of Muybridge in his thinking, as he's
drawing Joey and Albert galloping across the Downs
And then the more haunting, foreboding atmosphere
of the night time crossing
when he's in a troopship going over to France
This is the harbour itself
And I was drawing with Basil, Adrian and Tom,
going 'shall we do it like this? '
And I just ripped up my sketch book
and put it in the theatre model box
And there was a lovely cloud,
or a landscape or a gash
So Rae creat ed this idea of projection,
and in the sky there's a ripped piece of paper
that we project on to all evening
With War Horse we're trying to achieve
two very distinct looks for the audience
We're trying to make sure they're very aware...
...of two very distinct ideas and places
The most concrete place,
the place where the play starts, is Devon
For me, as far as the lighting goes, it's all about
very, very high angles of light, warm, beautiful sunlight
The kind of thing that makes you think about long summer
days and being in Devon, and the landscape and space
What happens then is we go from rural Devon
to the hell that was the First World War
When you go into the war zone, as it were
suddenly the lighting is all coming at you
from much, much lower more dynamic angles
We used the space underneath the screen
and the light comes from there
Bonjour, mes amis! Spring is in the air
Shame you're not on your holidays
Nice is very nice this time of year, I'm told But you're
not headed there, and neither am I, more's the pity
Platoon, fall in
Oi, your Name?
Trooper Narracott, Sergeant
Trooper Narracott Ah yes
New orders You 're joining the infantry
Sir?
Don't call me 'Sir', I'm not an effing officer,
I work for a living
Hang about how old are you?
Nineteen, Sergeant
More like sixteen
You've been effing transferred, Private Narracott
who claims to be nine effing teen
Don't exist?
Correct, so you're now to be a private in the infantry
What about the horses? My horse is with
that Yeomanry, he's called Joey, this is his picture
You have a picture of your horse?
Why didn't you say?
Ah yes, a simple sketch but unmistakably
What did you say his name was?
Joey
I don't know where your effing Joey is
Do I look like I know the lat est
on every effing horse in the war?
Do I look like an effing equine expert
or even an effing equestrian enthusiast?
Your mob has gone
Any survivors will have been absorbed
So there were survivors
Silence, Private
Are you silent now?
Sergeant
You spoke
Sergeant
You spoke again
You! Here, now
And what, pray, is your name?
Private Taylor, Sergeant
This one here think's he's on a mission for the Dumb
Animals' League, he thinks he's here to nose for his nag
But you know why we're here, don't you,
Private Taylor?
To win the war, Sergeant
That's right You have come to rance to kill Germans
Either of you know any French?
Never mind, I'll learn you some Repeat after me
Je suis un bloody sod
Je suis un bloody bastard
Right I want you all to come and pick up a shovel
You think I'm joking?
Oh, you 're going to need your shovels, boys
Move it I said move it!
Private Narracott
The picture of your horse
If I were you I'd send it home with a letter on the back
'Dearest Mother, I asked, but the effing horse
is in effing horse heaven' Move it!
Right Six months we've been here
and it may be another six before it's over
So here's another French word I want you all to learn
Repeat after me Impasse
And another Dig
And another Trench That's right
We are going to burrow into the ground
and we are going to make ourselves tres comfortable
The deeper you burrow the more comfortable you is
Platoon 'shun! Right turn, toot sweet to the front,
and the tooter the sweeter!
Platoon, by the left, quick march
Goodbye Dolly I must leave you,
Though it breaks my heart to go
Something tells me I am needed
At the front to fight the foe
See the soldler boys are marching
And I can no longer stay
Hark, I hear the bugle calling
Goodbye, Dolly Gray i
Qu'est ce que se passe? Qu'est ce que vous fout ez l??
C'est ma ferme ici!
Plus maintenant
Reviens! T'as pas le droit
What are they going to do with us, sir?
Keep quiet, Narracott
Et qu'est ce qu'ils leur font maintenant?
C'est notre terrain, ce n'est pas une prison
- Va te faire foutre!
- What is she saying?
Just stay calm, Narracott They've requisitioned her land
Don't do anythi ng stu pid
Der Angriff war Wahnsinn
I don't speak Fritz, Fritz
What I said was, that charge was folly
You may not speak Fritz, as you call it
But some of us speak Tommy, Tommy
It was a massacre I have just been shooting your
half dead horses as they hung on the wire I shot fifteen
To send horses int o wire and machine guns
is, how you say barbaric
Trooper! Let them search you
It was my father's
What was? Billy, give it to them
No! It was my father's
Gefreiter!
You didn't have to do that
I'm unarmed
Genug, Gefreiter, er sagt dass er unbewaffnet ist
Beruhigt euch
What beautiful creatures What are these horses' names?
Tell me their names
Entschuldigung, Herr Hauptmann, was sagen sie?
Look into that Gefrieter's eyes
His comrades are all dead, killed by a British shell
He is out for blood
Shall I let the Gefreiter escort you alone?
Joey Topthorn
Topthorn
Wollen Sie ihre englischen Namen benutzen?
F?hren Sie ihn weg Und tun Sie ihm nichts an
Hauptmann
Goodbye, Topthorn Goodbye, old lad
Calm down Calm down, old lad
English Does that make you feel like home?
But now you will join the German cavalry,
and I will be going with you
Do you think we will last? Or will the English machine guns
send a thousand bullets into our bones?
Let me see What's this?
Damn wire
Do not worry We take care
My horse, Siegfried, he was split in two just yesterday
Shrapnel went through his brain, down he went
His head opened up like a seashell
Those eyes Oh, God, now I'm seeing things
Wir bauen einen Krankenwagen zusammen
Hauptmann M?ller?
Spannen Sie die Pferde vor diesen Karren
Herr Oberst, diese Pferde k ?nnen den Karren nicht ziehen,
der eine ist ein Vollblut und der andere ein Jagdpferd
Tun Sie es einfach
Oberst
Oh, boys! Now they want you to pull an ambulance
from here to the hospital
Do not laugh at me
I know, I know, it is out of the question
They do not even know the difference
between a cavalry horse and a cart horse
These fools are what do you say? unhinged
But still, it would mean you will not be riding
into the British guns tomorrow if you can do this
Topthorn I know you have probably never seen
one of these, never mind worn it But it might save your life
Calm down Come on, Topthorn, come on
Hauptmann M?ller
Tut mir leid
Also sterben die Verwundeten?
Das sind die falschen Pferde!
Schauen sie sie an
Where do you want to be? Pulling an ambulance,
or out there with me, tangled and dying in the wire?
The ploughboy's written home a letter,
The best that he knew how
Saylng this cruel war shall n 'er keep us apart
While cannon loud do roar
I shall keep our love secure
You have done this before?
For my tunic button's tight around your heart
Sehen Sie!
To use a beautiful hunter like you as a cart horse!
So it is the British who are unhinged
Why do you know how to take a collar?
Where did you learn?
Whoever taught you just saved your life, Joey
Now Topthorn Joey has shown you
There is nothing to be frightened of, that's right, good lad
Du f?hrst diesen Krankenwagen zum Lazarett
Ich?
Morgen k?nnen Sie zur?ck zu Ihre Einheit
Befehle, Soldat!
Well, there is a piece of luck, Topthorn!
I do not have to rejoin my unit till tomorrow
Danke sch?n! Come on, boys
Don't worry, I will look after you today
Tomorrow, who knows?
Play your cards right, and you may get to stay
with this ambulance, keep out of the fighting for good
Fritz your way?
No, yours?
No We're right in it
Where did they come from?
First I knew, they were in our trench
The only English I heard was 'Fall back! Fall back!'
What shall we do now?
Why are you asking me?
I followed you
'cos I thought you knew what you were doing
I was just shitting myself, Private Just shitting
Are we the only ones who made it?
Can't be
Might be
Can't be
Shall we make a run for it?
But we're lost so which way?
Dunno
We could be running towards them
Come on, Albert You're the country boy,
you're the one who buggers about in fields at night
Nothing to see is there?
Nothing No stars, no moon
Nothing We're buggered ain't we?
We can't be the only ones who made it
I'm gonna finish a letter to my girl
Now?
Will you see it gets
Yes
If anything happens to
Shut up! Nothing's going to happen
Your pencil's scratching
What is it?
Nothing
You gonna write a letter to your horse?
Tres funny
Can he read?
Your silence reveals
that the answer to my question is 'neigh'
Is that your girl's picture?
That's her That's my Flossie
At least Joey's meant to like look a horse
If Flossie's got a long face it's because
she's missing me giving her a rub down after a gallop
She's what keeps me going
When we were climbing out that trench
I put my foot through something, Albert
I think it was a bit of a man
It might well have been, Private
And I've a little brother, Alfie
Promised I'd teach him how to ride a bicycle
Has he got one?
No
I've a spare bicycle. It's in Exeter
Alfie can have it
Thanks, Al bert That's bon
Alright
What was that?
What was what?
Joey!
Albert?
I will find Joey, David I will I know
he's somewhere in this mess and I know he's alive
Whatever keeps you goi ng I've got me girl
You've got your horse
Jesus!
Now we're for it
That way I
Reckon?
What do you think?
I think so
Vat en!
Du chocolat
Hello? Herr Doktor?
Alle sind tot?
Oh, boys in one day, a field of ghosts
Johann Schnabel Thirty six
This must be his mother and father
Dr Wilhelm Schweyk
H is wife And one, two, three, four, five children Five!
Topthorn, do you know about death?
What do horses think about death?
Ist schon gut, ich tue dir nichts
Lebst du hier?
Ich versuche mal franz?sisch zu sprechen
Ou est ca pere et mere? Tu com prends?
Ca pere? Ca mere? Tu est francais?
Francais, bon Je parle un petite peu
J'ai un petite fille, Gisa Ma fille est Gisa
Tu est? Quelle est ca nom?
Joey
Joey? Emilie
Friedrich
Say bonjour to Emilie, Topthorn
She likes you, Joey
T'es si courageux, Joey
Emiliel
Maman?
Qu'est ce que tu fais l?? Pourquoi tun'es pas ? la cave?
C'est pas un probleme, madame
Je t'ai d?j? dit de ne pas parler aux Allemands
Nous disons bonjour, les animaux et moi amiable
Rentre t out de suite dans la maison
C'est bon, madame
Mais, maman Les chevaux ont besoin de moi
Fais comme je te dis
Non Tu ne comprends pas Laisse moi tranquillel
Ces chevaux ont besoin de nous
Elle est chiante, ma m?re
You cannot blame her too m uch, eh boys?
Wasser, wasser, wasser
But oh, boys, that girl r eminds me so much
of my daughter Gisa
Topthorn, that is my wife
Joey, who is this?
It is me, Friedrich M?ller, thirty nine years of age
Nearly, but not yet, a ghost
Shall I tell you a secret?
When I am fighting, I do not know what I am doing
Three years training in the cavalry,
five years in the reserve
All my life preparing t o serve the Kaiser, riding
my big, beautiful horse into battle and I am useless
But I want to see Gisa again I want to go home
Where is home for you, Joey?
Topthorn, is there a Gisa waiting for you? No?
You could come home with me, to Germany,
back to Schleiden
It is beautiful it is not far, just the other side of Belgium
When this is over
God, I wish it were over now just like it is for him I think
I would rather kill myself than go into the fighting again
Yes, that is clever thinking, Joey
You are right, a new uniform That is a plan
And then I shall stay with you
That is a good plan
If they learned of this
they would shoot a bullet in my skull
Maybe I can manage to keep us all out of the fighting
What have you done to deserve
being shredded by a machine gun?
Cavalry is no use in this war And we can win it
without useless Kavallerie Hauptmann M?ller
But I'll be reported dead Gisa will think
Soldat!
Ja, Herr Unteroffizier
Wo ist der Doktor?
Tot, Herr Unteroffizier
Sind alle tot?
Ja
Gab es einen Kavallerie Hauptmann M?ller?
M?ller? Tot
Hilf mir sie zu begraben
'Was there a Cavalry Captain M?ller?' he asked
Ja, there was
But just for a few weeks, until the end of the fighting,
he is ambulance orderly Johann Schnabel
Then I will take you home, home to little Gisa
Ted it's a letter from our boy
And? Well?
'Dear Mother, please don't be angry with me
for running away I am all right'
'The sun is shining today I've found a good chum
called David And they've made me a lance corporal'
'Horse in French is shove oh
Ju shursh Joey means I look for Joey'
He's still looking for that horse
They'd have sequestered that horse anywa y, Rose
And you know it
and there's nothing I could've done to stop them
What if we lose him?
Keep reading
I wonder if he knows about Billy?
Is there anything else in the letter?
I wish it was you over there, not him
He's just a boy
Rose, keep reading
'You're a bon mother' Bon
Cruel Winter cuts through like the reaper
And the old year lies withered and slain
And like Barleycorn who rose fron the grave
Anew year will rise up agaln
Emilie, tu es dou?e avec ce cheval
And the snow falls, the wind calls,
And the year turns round again
And like Barleycorn who rose fron the grave
Anew year will rise up agaln
Will we be going over the top today, do you think, Albert,
for this big offensive they keep talking about?
Will we get the whistle?
Don't you think about it
Just keep cleaning that rifle
and it will never happen, David
Yes, Lance corporal
Field Marshal to you, Private
Calm down, Joey
Tr?s bon Tr?s bon, Emilie
Come on, David That's stand down Grub's up
Looks like we're not going over the top today after all
That's good And Joey's alive too
If you say
I do say Joey's alive
Emilie, tu es belle aujourd'hui
Comme une princesse
Non, comme une reine
Oui, une reine
And I'll garland a bonnet of daisies
To crown you the queen of the May
Une reine ? cheval
And all shall behold the seasons unfold
As surely as night follows day
Allez, Joey
Phoebe arlse, a gleam in her eyes
And the year turns round again
Regardez moi! La reine Emilie!
And llke Barleycorn, who rose from the grave
My God, that man
You know him, you remember He is dangerous
Not now, boys
War das englisch?
Englisch? Nein
Joey Calm down, Joey
M?tze ab M?tze ab!
Hauptmann M?ller!
Qu'est ce que j'ai dit?
Feigling Verdammter Feigling
Du und deine Pferde ziehen meine Kanone
Friedrich! Viens avec nous
Rentre dans la maison
A la cave Emilie, ? la cave
I am sorry, boys, you're going to have to pull this gun
There is nothing I can do
I will look after you We shall look after each other
No, Joey you mustn't!
Don't be stupid! You need them
Ich schiesse!
Dan schiessen sie doch
Spannen sie sie vor die Kanone
Wenn sie versuchen abzuhauen, M?ller,
haue ich die Pferde in St?ck e
Joey! Non!
Ne le prends pas, il est ? moi
Stand to me, bonny lads,
Stand to and mak e you ready
Stand to me, bonny lads,
Hold the line right steady
Albert
It's all right, David
Albert
It's all right
I can't
Yes you can
We'll get through this all right We'll do it for Flossie
Flossie, yeah
Give her a rub down after a gallop
That's right and Joey
Good boy You've got your girl, I've got my horse
Come on, David
Goodbye Dolly I must leave you,
Though it breaks ny heart to go
Nol Albert, wake up Bastards!
Albert, come on, you ain't dying on me
Nicht halten!
Verdammte Schlamm!
None of that, Topthorn, or he will shoot you too
Come on, boys One two three pull!
Come on, Joey You must pull for two
Topthorn needs you now Your lives depend on it
What d'you think, Corporal?
It's like a graveyard, Sarge
What was that?
The horses
I meant about these tracks
Yes, Sarge They look fresh
They do And Narracott? Narracott!
Deep ruts, Sarge One carriage, a gun Ma ybe that horse
was one of their team if it was, they'll be struggling
Call the men in
Joey ain't here You'd know if he was and he ain't
Jesus, Albert
I said call the men in!
Yes, Sarge
Do you mind telling me what this is all about, Corporal?
I can't stand the stink
Spent your sick leave smelling roses, did you?
I'm all right, Sarge
I thought you was a country boy,
you never seen a dead animal?
That Jerry gun's our target it's en route to a new position,
most likely to shell our tanks
They're half an hour behind us,
so we need to move sharpish before it can
Jesus!
Corporal?
That horse moved
Nerves He's dead
They ain't all dead
What did you say?
Albert
She's in the arms of Jesus, Narracott
Now pull yourself together before Jerry
shoots you somewhere worse than your leg
We need t o move
Yes, Sarge
Enemy front!
Seen
Hold your fire it's a girl
It's all right Come on
Come here, I'm not going to hurt you
It's all right Francais? Parlez Anglais?
J'ai perdu mon cheval
Perdu? Hello, Perdu
She's saying she's lost her horse, Sarge
Ask her if she's seen that Jerry gun
Corporal!
Vu les Allemagnes?
Oui
Oui? O ??
Ici, chez nous
O ? chez nous?
Partout They're everywhere
Tout est fichu, ils sont partout
Aidez moi, j'ai perdu mon cheval
It's all right, you just want to see him, I know
Je connais, je comprends, I know calm down
Cal m down, calm down Je
She'll be safe at HQ You take her
What?
You and Private Taylor
Are you sending me back
because I thought the dead horse moved?
No, I'm ordering you to escort the francais fille who might
have intelligence because you're the best man for the job
Yes, Sarge
Right, we go on after that Jerry gun
You go back Move out!
Right, Albert Let's do this, then
Hang on, wait This horse is moving, she's breathing
What you doing?
This poor mare is not bon Can you get up, girl? Can you?
Albert!
We can't leave her like this
Non ne lui fais pas mal, arr?te!
Shut up!
You think they can live through this?
There you go, bon girl Free now
Albert, we have to get out of here now
Joey's dead What?
Joey died like Billy and Nicholls
No, no, no
And I'm effing glad 'cause what's the point, eh?
Day after day, nothing but that bloody horse
You think I'm going to let you give up now?
Goodbye Joey, goodbye
Gas! Gas mask on! Narracottl
Move Albert We have to get out
And I'll wager a hat full of gulneas, ,
Against all of the songs you can sing
that some day you'll love and the nxt day you'll lose,
And Winter will turn into Spring
Tak e the chance to rest, boys
Rest while the sun shines
Sie sprechen englisch? Me also
Ist das Geschirr fertig?
Fast
Beeilen Sie sich
Fine horses Too fine to pull that gun
They just about manage Just
He speaks English?
No
Have you heard what they say at home?
They say we cannot win this war
Sprecht deutsch!
Herr Unteroffizier
Be careful with him
What can he do, shoot me?
Yes He would
They say the Kaiser must go
and we make a democracy
It would be im possible for a democracy
to start a war against the will of the people
H?rt auf englisch zu reden!
Ich will wissen was ihr redet!
Schaut! Seht sie euch an,
leben nur f?r diesen Moment
Sonnenschein, birds, nature
I nnocent, like children Wie Kinder
Topthorn!
Er ist tot, verdammt nochmal
Nothing you can do, my friend
For him there is no more war now This is good, no?
Noble, noble cavalry horse
I was going to take you home Home to little Gisa
Dam n this bloody war Damn the bloody Kaiser
Was haben sie ?ber den Kaiser gesagt?
Verdammt sei der Dreckskaiser!
Stand to! Stand to!
What is it, Geordie?
I saw something moving in no man 's land
Out there? What?
It isn't a man, Sarge
Looks more like a horse or a cow to me
A cow or a horse?
Your eyes are playing tricks on you
Or perhaps you think it's an effing Trojan horse,
or a Trojan cow, an elaborate ploy by Jerry to
Honest, Sarge, I saw it
Well, I can't see anything
And that's because there's nothing there
I'm not making it up, Sarge
There'll be a rum ration in a minute, Geordie
After that you'll see all sorts in that mist
Perhaps the effing Trojan cow
will jump over the effing moon
Now k eep your eyes peeled for Germans, trez beans?
Toot sweet an' all
Achtung! Schnell!
Was ist?
Ein Pferd
Ein bescheissenes Pferd?
In dem Schlamm und Stacheldraht da draussen?
Sag mal, bist du total bescheuert?
Shut up they're saying something
Ich sage dir, es ist ein Pferd
Maybe they've seen him too
Him? There's no him
It's a horse! Sergeant! It's a bloody horse
Give me that
Well, eff me A horse in no mans land
Where the eff did that come from?
I told you
Out thee in that effing bog? Unbel..
Hang about a white flag
Hold your fire!
Jerry's going for him
Are you sure about this, Geordie?
We can't just let the effing Jerries effing have him
Too effing right, Geordie
Hold your fire but be prepared
Komm Hier
Easy lad good boy
So what do we do now? Two of us and only one horse
and I can't speak a word of German Haddawey and shite!
Alles sind still
We must be careful not to start a war, eh?
Was?
Don't worry about it
Er hat viel Blut verloren
He needs a veterinarian
Was war das?
A veterinarian, he needs a
Ah ja Veterin?r Die haben wir
So how do we Kopf oder Zahl?
Hold your fire!
Kopf oder Zahl?
Heads or tails That is heads, this tails
Ich werfe, du rufst, ja
Two roofs?
Nein Ich werfe, du rufst, ja?
Heads
Nein, nein
Ich werfe, du rufst, ja
Bon chance Auf Wiedersehen
Same to you, bonnie lad Same to you
It's ours, lads The no man's land horse is ours
Trez beans, Geordie, trez beans
Tommy in the neadow
Tommy in the byre
Tommy on the firestep
Tommy on the wire
And those who walk ed in war
And those who cherished peace
And those who walked this blessed land
Their hope shall never cease
Gas?
Yes, Nurse
Can you see anything?
He can still see shapes, Nurse
It was only tear gas
You're lucky, you will regain your sight
That's good, Albert
He'll be all right
If you say I will, then I'll be all right
If you say I will
What do you mean by that reply, Corporal?
Where was your gas mask, Corporal?
It was damaged, Nurse
Well it's not a Blighty one
Category two: slight Wait here for an orderly
For Chrissake snap out of it, Albert
This, sir, is the no man's land horse
It's just his leg, as far as we can make out
That needs cleaning out straight away
We sluiced it with water, sir, but we didn't try anything else
You did the right thing Water please
Ordinarily, sir,
we wouldn't be making such a fuss over an injured horse
But the men have got it onto their heads that he's special
He looks as if he was a fine animal, once
We didn't feed him in case he needs an operation
An operation? He'll be lucky
I know you, don't I?
It was when we disembarked, Sergeant
When?
March 1915, Sarge
You've done well What's he got?
Tear gas, Sarge
lt'll wear off I said it'll wear off, son
Are you all right, son?
He's just a bit tired, Sergeant
What's his name?
Corporal Narracott, Sarge
Narracottl Eff me, I remember you
You were the one badgering me about
effing horses Corporal, that was you, wasn't it?
It's no use
Hear that, Sarge? He says it's no use
That's a shame, that's a damn shame, sir
The men are talking about him
as if he's some sort of miracle
He's half dead and I've got no one to look after him
They're going t o off the sick horse, Albert,
like you offed that German one
I had a horse once
I know you did, Albert
Joey, he was called
I know
For God's sake! Gun jammed
Sergeant? Thank you
What's going on over there? He's upsetting this horse
Get him away from here, that's an order
Get him out of here, Private Can't you see
this is hard enough without upsetting this horse?
What does he mean, I'm upsetting the horse?
What horse?
Shush Albert, we've been ordered away
The one he's about to off?
Is he answering? Is he answering to Joey?
Don't off him! Don't off the bon horse! Joey! Joey boy!
Sir, don't pull the trigger
What the hell?
Do you see that?
Joey? Joey boy, is it you?
It's his effing horse, sir
His effing horse from effing home
Hello, Joey Hello, boy
Where you been then, hey? Where you been?
What a dance you've led me
Sorry Does that hurt?
We'll mend that, we will
You're alive, you're alive, you 're alive
What a bon boy
Only the truth that in llfe we have spoken
Only the deeds when our journey is run
These shall pass onward when we are forgotten
Only remembered for what we have done
Who'll slng the anthems, who'll tell the story?
Will the line hold, will it scatter and run?
Shall we at last be united in glory?
Only remembered for what we have done
A man and a horse
It can't be
I knew that I wanted Handspring Puppets to work here
And so we were reading various stories
to try and work out what might be another show
Tom Morris
Co-Director
It was War Horse, it was an extraordinary story
I immediately thought:
Handspring Puppet Com an
Cape Town, South Africa
When I started working at the National Theatre in 2004
I knew that I wanted Handspring Puppets to work here
And so we were reading various stories
to try and work out what might be another show
And my mum said to me,
'Have you read the one...
It was War Horse, it was an extraordinary story
I immediately thought:
...could create that definitive puppet
that is going to play a leading role
The first workshop we came to was when
the project was still very much a question mark
There were difficulties in adapting
a novel about the war to the stage
out of shredded newspaper
and cardboard
The workshop participants were released onto
the completely bare Olivier stage one afternoon
And pranced around, and from up on the gallery
the stage looked absolutely ideal
It's of a brisk young ploughboy,
He was ploughing on the plaln
It was down in yonder shade, he went whistling to plough,
And by chance there he met a pretty maid
and breath with the object
Very often you're working as a team
The only way that you can really communicate
with other people who are operating together
with you on the same object is through breath
And we were always told
by the Directors Tom and Marianne
, that the horses need to be horses,
they're not supposed to be well behaved
They must always remain animals,
and animals are unpredictable
Throughout the period of the First World War
there was a huge amount of technology
Production process was being radicalised
making armaments and stuffing them
into the front lines and trenches
...like the Futurists, who
saw the possibility of war...
...as cleansing the
dusty old dry orders
When it came to Britain
we had the Vorticists
Basically I realised that the Vorticist
and Expressionist paintings of people like Nash
The fragmented
and fractured environments...
...and strangely surreal and
inhuman landscapes that they painted...
seemed to represent more the individual
soldiers' experience of being in the war
Here we have the beginning of the idea
of the torn paper out of the sketch book...
which young Albert tak es to war with him
These are Nicholls' initial drawings
of July 1914 of rural Devon
Little sketches of the townscape and close ups,
the kind of thing he'd be working or thinking through
The influence of Muybridge in his thinking, as he's
drawing Joey and Albert galloping across the Downs
And then the more haunting, foreboding atmosphere
of the night time crossing
when he's in a troopship going over to France
This is the harbour itself
And I was drawing with Basil, Adrian and Tom,
going 'shall we do it like this? '
And I just ripped up my sketch book
and put it in the theatre model box
And there was a lovely cloud,
or a landscape or a gash
So Rae creat ed this idea of projection,
and in the sky there's a ripped piece of paper
that we project on to all evening
With War Horse we're trying to achieve
two very distinct looks for the audience
We're trying to make sure they're very aware...
...of two very distinct ideas and places
The most concrete place,
the place where the play starts, is Devon
For me, as far as the lighting goes, it's all about
very, very high angles of light, warm, beautiful sunlight
The kind of thing that makes you think about long summer
days and being in Devon, and the landscape and space
What happens then is we go from rural Devon
to the hell that was the First World War
When you go into the war zone, as it were
suddenly the lighting is all coming at you
from much, much lower more dynamic angles
We used the space underneath the screen
and the light comes from there
Bonjour, mes amis! Spring is in the air
Shame you're not on your holidays
Nice is very nice this time of year, I'm told But you're
not headed there, and neither am I, more's the pity
Platoon, fall in
Oi, your Name?
Trooper Narracott, Sergeant
Trooper Narracott Ah yes
New orders You 're joining the infantry
Sir?
Don't call me 'Sir', I'm not an effing officer,
I work for a living
Hang about how old are you?
Nineteen, Sergeant
More like sixteen
You've been effing transferred, Private Narracott
who claims to be nine effing teen
Don't exist?
Correct, so you're now to be a private in the infantry
What about the horses? My horse is with
that Yeomanry, he's called Joey, this is his picture
You have a picture of your horse?
Why didn't you say?
Ah yes, a simple sketch but unmistakably
What did you say his name was?
Joey
I don't know where your effing Joey is
Do I look like I know the lat est
on every effing horse in the war?
Do I look like an effing equine expert
or even an effing equestrian enthusiast?
Your mob has gone
Any survivors will have been absorbed
So there were survivors
Silence, Private
Are you silent now?
Sergeant
You spoke
Sergeant
You spoke again
You! Here, now
And what, pray, is your name?
Private Taylor, Sergeant
This one here think's he's on a mission for the Dumb
Animals' League, he thinks he's here to nose for his nag
But you know why we're here, don't you,
Private Taylor?
To win the war, Sergeant
That's right You have come to rance to kill Germans
Either of you know any French?
Never mind, I'll learn you some Repeat after me
Je suis un bloody sod
Je suis un bloody bastard
Right I want you all to come and pick up a shovel
You think I'm joking?
Oh, you 're going to need your shovels, boys
Move it I said move it!
Private Narracott
The picture of your horse
If I were you I'd send it home with a letter on the back
'Dearest Mother, I asked, but the effing horse
is in effing horse heaven' Move it!
Right Six months we've been here
and it may be another six before it's over
So here's another French word I want you all to learn
Repeat after me Impasse
And another Dig
And another Trench That's right
We are going to burrow into the ground
and we are going to make ourselves tres comfortable
The deeper you burrow the more comfortable you is
Platoon 'shun! Right turn, toot sweet to the front,
and the tooter the sweeter!
Platoon, by the left, quick march
Goodbye Dolly I must leave you,
Though it breaks my heart to go
Something tells me I am needed
At the front to fight the foe
See the soldler boys are marching
And I can no longer stay
Hark, I hear the bugle calling
Goodbye, Dolly Gray i
Qu'est ce que se passe? Qu'est ce que vous fout ez l??
C'est ma ferme ici!
Plus maintenant
Reviens! T'as pas le droit
What are they going to do with us, sir?
Keep quiet, Narracott
Et qu'est ce qu'ils leur font maintenant?
C'est notre terrain, ce n'est pas une prison
- Va te faire foutre!
- What is she saying?
Just stay calm, Narracott They've requisitioned her land
Don't do anythi ng stu pid
Der Angriff war Wahnsinn
I don't speak Fritz, Fritz
What I said was, that charge was folly
You may not speak Fritz, as you call it
But some of us speak Tommy, Tommy
It was a massacre I have just been shooting your
half dead horses as they hung on the wire I shot fifteen
To send horses int o wire and machine guns
is, how you say barbaric
Trooper! Let them search you
It was my father's
What was? Billy, give it to them
No! It was my father's
Gefreiter!
You didn't have to do that
I'm unarmed
Genug, Gefreiter, er sagt dass er unbewaffnet ist
Beruhigt euch
What beautiful creatures What are these horses' names?
Tell me their names
Entschuldigung, Herr Hauptmann, was sagen sie?
Look into that Gefrieter's eyes
His comrades are all dead, killed by a British shell
He is out for blood
Shall I let the Gefreiter escort you alone?
Joey Topthorn
Topthorn
Wollen Sie ihre englischen Namen benutzen?
F?hren Sie ihn weg Und tun Sie ihm nichts an
Hauptmann
Goodbye, Topthorn Goodbye, old lad
Calm down Calm down, old lad
English Does that make you feel like home?
But now you will join the German cavalry,
and I will be going with you
Do you think we will last? Or will the English machine guns
send a thousand bullets into our bones?
Let me see What's this?
Damn wire
Do not worry We take care
My horse, Siegfried, he was split in two just yesterday
Shrapnel went through his brain, down he went
His head opened up like a seashell
Those eyes Oh, God, now I'm seeing things
Wir bauen einen Krankenwagen zusammen
Hauptmann M?ller?
Spannen Sie die Pferde vor diesen Karren
Herr Oberst, diese Pferde k ?nnen den Karren nicht ziehen,
der eine ist ein Vollblut und der andere ein Jagdpferd
Tun Sie es einfach
Oberst
Oh, boys! Now they want you to pull an ambulance
from here to the hospital
Do not laugh at me
I know, I know, it is out of the question
They do not even know the difference
between a cavalry horse and a cart horse
These fools are what do you say? unhinged
But still, it would mean you will not be riding
into the British guns tomorrow if you can do this
Topthorn I know you have probably never seen
one of these, never mind worn it But it might save your life
Calm down Come on, Topthorn, come on
Hauptmann M?ller
Tut mir leid
Also sterben die Verwundeten?
Das sind die falschen Pferde!
Schauen sie sie an
Where do you want to be? Pulling an ambulance,
or out there with me, tangled and dying in the wire?
The ploughboy's written home a letter,
The best that he knew how
Saylng this cruel war shall n 'er keep us apart
While cannon loud do roar
I shall keep our love secure
You have done this before?
For my tunic button's tight around your heart
Sehen Sie!
To use a beautiful hunter like you as a cart horse!
So it is the British who are unhinged
Why do you know how to take a collar?
Where did you learn?
Whoever taught you just saved your life, Joey
Now Topthorn Joey has shown you
There is nothing to be frightened of, that's right, good lad
Du f?hrst diesen Krankenwagen zum Lazarett
Ich?
Morgen k?nnen Sie zur?ck zu Ihre Einheit
Befehle, Soldat!
Well, there is a piece of luck, Topthorn!
I do not have to rejoin my unit till tomorrow
Danke sch?n! Come on, boys
Don't worry, I will look after you today
Tomorrow, who knows?
Play your cards right, and you may get to stay
with this ambulance, keep out of the fighting for good
Fritz your way?
No, yours?
No We're right in it
Where did they come from?
First I knew, they were in our trench
The only English I heard was 'Fall back! Fall back!'
What shall we do now?
Why are you asking me?
I followed you
'cos I thought you knew what you were doing
I was just shitting myself, Private Just shitting
Are we the only ones who made it?
Can't be
Might be
Can't be
Shall we make a run for it?
But we're lost so which way?
Dunno
We could be running towards them
Come on, Albert You're the country boy,
you're the one who buggers about in fields at night
Nothing to see is there?
Nothing No stars, no moon
Nothing We're buggered ain't we?
We can't be the only ones who made it
I'm gonna finish a letter to my girl
Now?
Will you see it gets
Yes
If anything happens to
Shut up! Nothing's going to happen
Your pencil's scratching
What is it?
Nothing
You gonna write a letter to your horse?
Tres funny
Can he read?
Your silence reveals
that the answer to my question is 'neigh'
Is that your girl's picture?
That's her That's my Flossie
At least Joey's meant to like look a horse
If Flossie's got a long face it's because
she's missing me giving her a rub down after a gallop
She's what keeps me going
When we were climbing out that trench
I put my foot through something, Albert
I think it was a bit of a man
It might well have been, Private
And I've a little brother, Alfie
Promised I'd teach him how to ride a bicycle
Has he got one?
No
I've a spare bicycle. It's in Exeter
Alfie can have it
Thanks, Al bert That's bon
Alright
What was that?
What was what?
Joey!
Albert?
I will find Joey, David I will I know
he's somewhere in this mess and I know he's alive
Whatever keeps you goi ng I've got me girl
You've got your horse
Jesus!
Now we're for it
That way I
Reckon?
What do you think?
I think so
Vat en!
Du chocolat
Hello? Herr Doktor?
Alle sind tot?
Oh, boys in one day, a field of ghosts
Johann Schnabel Thirty six
This must be his mother and father
Dr Wilhelm Schweyk
H is wife And one, two, three, four, five children Five!
Topthorn, do you know about death?
What do horses think about death?
Ist schon gut, ich tue dir nichts
Lebst du hier?
Ich versuche mal franz?sisch zu sprechen
Ou est ca pere et mere? Tu com prends?
Ca pere? Ca mere? Tu est francais?
Francais, bon Je parle un petite peu
J'ai un petite fille, Gisa Ma fille est Gisa
Tu est? Quelle est ca nom?
Joey
Joey? Emilie
Friedrich
Say bonjour to Emilie, Topthorn
She likes you, Joey
T'es si courageux, Joey
Emiliel
Maman?
Qu'est ce que tu fais l?? Pourquoi tun'es pas ? la cave?
C'est pas un probleme, madame
Je t'ai d?j? dit de ne pas parler aux Allemands
Nous disons bonjour, les animaux et moi amiable
Rentre t out de suite dans la maison
C'est bon, madame
Mais, maman Les chevaux ont besoin de moi
Fais comme je te dis
Non Tu ne comprends pas Laisse moi tranquillel
Ces chevaux ont besoin de nous
Elle est chiante, ma m?re
You cannot blame her too m uch, eh boys?
Wasser, wasser, wasser
But oh, boys, that girl r eminds me so much
of my daughter Gisa
Topthorn, that is my wife
Joey, who is this?
It is me, Friedrich M?ller, thirty nine years of age
Nearly, but not yet, a ghost
Shall I tell you a secret?
When I am fighting, I do not know what I am doing
Three years training in the cavalry,
five years in the reserve
All my life preparing t o serve the Kaiser, riding
my big, beautiful horse into battle and I am useless
But I want to see Gisa again I want to go home
Where is home for you, Joey?
Topthorn, is there a Gisa waiting for you? No?
You could come home with me, to Germany,
back to Schleiden
It is beautiful it is not far, just the other side of Belgium
When this is over
God, I wish it were over now just like it is for him I think
I would rather kill myself than go into the fighting again
Yes, that is clever thinking, Joey
You are right, a new uniform That is a plan
And then I shall stay with you
That is a good plan
If they learned of this
they would shoot a bullet in my skull
Maybe I can manage to keep us all out of the fighting
What have you done to deserve
being shredded by a machine gun?
Cavalry is no use in this war And we can win it
without useless Kavallerie Hauptmann M?ller
But I'll be reported dead Gisa will think
Soldat!
Ja, Herr Unteroffizier
Wo ist der Doktor?
Tot, Herr Unteroffizier
Sind alle tot?
Ja
Gab es einen Kavallerie Hauptmann M?ller?
M?ller? Tot
Hilf mir sie zu begraben
'Was there a Cavalry Captain M?ller?' he asked
Ja, there was
But just for a few weeks, until the end of the fighting,
he is ambulance orderly Johann Schnabel
Then I will take you home, home to little Gisa
Ted it's a letter from our boy
And? Well?
'Dear Mother, please don't be angry with me
for running away I am all right'
'The sun is shining today I've found a good chum
called David And they've made me a lance corporal'
'Horse in French is shove oh
Ju shursh Joey means I look for Joey'
He's still looking for that horse
They'd have sequestered that horse anywa y, Rose
And you know it
and there's nothing I could've done to stop them
What if we lose him?
Keep reading
I wonder if he knows about Billy?
Is there anything else in the letter?
I wish it was you over there, not him
He's just a boy
Rose, keep reading
'You're a bon mother' Bon
Cruel Winter cuts through like the reaper
And the old year lies withered and slain
And like Barleycorn who rose fron the grave
Anew year will rise up agaln
Emilie, tu es dou?e avec ce cheval
And the snow falls, the wind calls,
And the year turns round again
And like Barleycorn who rose fron the grave
Anew year will rise up agaln
Will we be going over the top today, do you think, Albert,
for this big offensive they keep talking about?
Will we get the whistle?
Don't you think about it
Just keep cleaning that rifle
and it will never happen, David
Yes, Lance corporal
Field Marshal to you, Private
Calm down, Joey
Tr?s bon Tr?s bon, Emilie
Come on, David That's stand down Grub's up
Looks like we're not going over the top today after all
That's good And Joey's alive too
If you say
I do say Joey's alive
Emilie, tu es belle aujourd'hui
Comme une princesse
Non, comme une reine
Oui, une reine
And I'll garland a bonnet of daisies
To crown you the queen of the May
Une reine ? cheval
And all shall behold the seasons unfold
As surely as night follows day
Allez, Joey
Phoebe arlse, a gleam in her eyes
And the year turns round again
Regardez moi! La reine Emilie!
And llke Barleycorn, who rose from the grave
My God, that man
You know him, you remember He is dangerous
Not now, boys
War das englisch?
Englisch? Nein
Joey Calm down, Joey
M?tze ab M?tze ab!
Hauptmann M?ller!
Qu'est ce que j'ai dit?
Feigling Verdammter Feigling
Du und deine Pferde ziehen meine Kanone
Friedrich! Viens avec nous
Rentre dans la maison
A la cave Emilie, ? la cave
I am sorry, boys, you're going to have to pull this gun
There is nothing I can do
I will look after you We shall look after each other
No, Joey you mustn't!
Don't be stupid! You need them
Ich schiesse!
Dan schiessen sie doch
Spannen sie sie vor die Kanone
Wenn sie versuchen abzuhauen, M?ller,
haue ich die Pferde in St?ck e
Joey! Non!
Ne le prends pas, il est ? moi
Stand to me, bonny lads,
Stand to and mak e you ready
Stand to me, bonny lads,
Hold the line right steady
Albert
It's all right, David
Albert
It's all right
I can't
Yes you can
We'll get through this all right We'll do it for Flossie
Flossie, yeah
Give her a rub down after a gallop
That's right and Joey
Good boy You've got your girl, I've got my horse
Come on, David
Goodbye Dolly I must leave you,
Though it breaks ny heart to go
Nol Albert, wake up Bastards!
Albert, come on, you ain't dying on me
Nicht halten!
Verdammte Schlamm!
None of that, Topthorn, or he will shoot you too
Come on, boys One two three pull!
Come on, Joey You must pull for two
Topthorn needs you now Your lives depend on it
What d'you think, Corporal?
It's like a graveyard, Sarge
What was that?
The horses
I meant about these tracks
Yes, Sarge They look fresh
They do And Narracott? Narracott!
Deep ruts, Sarge One carriage, a gun Ma ybe that horse
was one of their team if it was, they'll be struggling
Call the men in
Joey ain't here You'd know if he was and he ain't
Jesus, Albert
I said call the men in!
Yes, Sarge
Do you mind telling me what this is all about, Corporal?
I can't stand the stink
Spent your sick leave smelling roses, did you?
I'm all right, Sarge
I thought you was a country boy,
you never seen a dead animal?
That Jerry gun's our target it's en route to a new position,
most likely to shell our tanks
They're half an hour behind us,
so we need to move sharpish before it can
Jesus!
Corporal?
That horse moved
Nerves He's dead
They ain't all dead
What did you say?
Albert
She's in the arms of Jesus, Narracott
Now pull yourself together before Jerry
shoots you somewhere worse than your leg
We need t o move
Yes, Sarge
Enemy front!
Seen
Hold your fire it's a girl
It's all right Come on
Come here, I'm not going to hurt you
It's all right Francais? Parlez Anglais?
J'ai perdu mon cheval
Perdu? Hello, Perdu
She's saying she's lost her horse, Sarge
Ask her if she's seen that Jerry gun
Corporal!
Vu les Allemagnes?
Oui
Oui? O ??
Ici, chez nous
O ? chez nous?
Partout They're everywhere
Tout est fichu, ils sont partout
Aidez moi, j'ai perdu mon cheval
It's all right, you just want to see him, I know
Je connais, je comprends, I know calm down
Cal m down, calm down Je
She'll be safe at HQ You take her
What?
You and Private Taylor
Are you sending me back
because I thought the dead horse moved?
No, I'm ordering you to escort the francais fille who might
have intelligence because you're the best man for the job
Yes, Sarge
Right, we go on after that Jerry gun
You go back Move out!
Right, Albert Let's do this, then
Hang on, wait This horse is moving, she's breathing
What you doing?
This poor mare is not bon Can you get up, girl? Can you?
Albert!
We can't leave her like this
Non ne lui fais pas mal, arr?te!
Shut up!
You think they can live through this?
There you go, bon girl Free now
Albert, we have to get out of here now
Joey's dead What?
Joey died like Billy and Nicholls
No, no, no
And I'm effing glad 'cause what's the point, eh?
Day after day, nothing but that bloody horse
You think I'm going to let you give up now?
Goodbye Joey, goodbye
Gas! Gas mask on! Narracottl
Move Albert We have to get out
And I'll wager a hat full of gulneas, ,
Against all of the songs you can sing
that some day you'll love and the nxt day you'll lose,
And Winter will turn into Spring
Tak e the chance to rest, boys
Rest while the sun shines
Sie sprechen englisch? Me also
Ist das Geschirr fertig?
Fast
Beeilen Sie sich
Fine horses Too fine to pull that gun
They just about manage Just
He speaks English?
No
Have you heard what they say at home?
They say we cannot win this war
Sprecht deutsch!
Herr Unteroffizier
Be careful with him
What can he do, shoot me?
Yes He would
They say the Kaiser must go
and we make a democracy
It would be im possible for a democracy
to start a war against the will of the people
H?rt auf englisch zu reden!
Ich will wissen was ihr redet!
Schaut! Seht sie euch an,
leben nur f?r diesen Moment
Sonnenschein, birds, nature
I nnocent, like children Wie Kinder
Topthorn!
Er ist tot, verdammt nochmal
Nothing you can do, my friend
For him there is no more war now This is good, no?
Noble, noble cavalry horse
I was going to take you home Home to little Gisa
Dam n this bloody war Damn the bloody Kaiser
Was haben sie ?ber den Kaiser gesagt?
Verdammt sei der Dreckskaiser!
Stand to! Stand to!
What is it, Geordie?
I saw something moving in no man 's land
Out there? What?
It isn't a man, Sarge
Looks more like a horse or a cow to me
A cow or a horse?
Your eyes are playing tricks on you
Or perhaps you think it's an effing Trojan horse,
or a Trojan cow, an elaborate ploy by Jerry to
Honest, Sarge, I saw it
Well, I can't see anything
And that's because there's nothing there
I'm not making it up, Sarge
There'll be a rum ration in a minute, Geordie
After that you'll see all sorts in that mist
Perhaps the effing Trojan cow
will jump over the effing moon
Now k eep your eyes peeled for Germans, trez beans?
Toot sweet an' all
Achtung! Schnell!
Was ist?
Ein Pferd
Ein bescheissenes Pferd?
In dem Schlamm und Stacheldraht da draussen?
Sag mal, bist du total bescheuert?
Shut up they're saying something
Ich sage dir, es ist ein Pferd
Maybe they've seen him too
Him? There's no him
It's a horse! Sergeant! It's a bloody horse
Give me that
Well, eff me A horse in no mans land
Where the eff did that come from?
I told you
Out thee in that effing bog? Unbel..
Hang about a white flag
Hold your fire!
Jerry's going for him
Are you sure about this, Geordie?
We can't just let the effing Jerries effing have him
Too effing right, Geordie
Hold your fire but be prepared
Komm Hier
Easy lad good boy
So what do we do now? Two of us and only one horse
and I can't speak a word of German Haddawey and shite!
Alles sind still
We must be careful not to start a war, eh?
Was?
Don't worry about it
Er hat viel Blut verloren
He needs a veterinarian
Was war das?
A veterinarian, he needs a
Ah ja Veterin?r Die haben wir
So how do we Kopf oder Zahl?
Hold your fire!
Kopf oder Zahl?
Heads or tails That is heads, this tails
Ich werfe, du rufst, ja
Two roofs?
Nein Ich werfe, du rufst, ja?
Heads
Nein, nein
Ich werfe, du rufst, ja
Bon chance Auf Wiedersehen
Same to you, bonnie lad Same to you
It's ours, lads The no man's land horse is ours
Trez beans, Geordie, trez beans
Tommy in the neadow
Tommy in the byre
Tommy on the firestep
Tommy on the wire
And those who walk ed in war
And those who cherished peace
And those who walked this blessed land
Their hope shall never cease
Gas?
Yes, Nurse
Can you see anything?
He can still see shapes, Nurse
It was only tear gas
You're lucky, you will regain your sight
That's good, Albert
He'll be all right
If you say I will, then I'll be all right
If you say I will
What do you mean by that reply, Corporal?
Where was your gas mask, Corporal?
It was damaged, Nurse
Well it's not a Blighty one
Category two: slight Wait here for an orderly
For Chrissake snap out of it, Albert
This, sir, is the no man's land horse
It's just his leg, as far as we can make out
That needs cleaning out straight away
We sluiced it with water, sir, but we didn't try anything else
You did the right thing Water please
Ordinarily, sir,
we wouldn't be making such a fuss over an injured horse
But the men have got it onto their heads that he's special
He looks as if he was a fine animal, once
We didn't feed him in case he needs an operation
An operation? He'll be lucky
I know you, don't I?
It was when we disembarked, Sergeant
When?
March 1915, Sarge
You've done well What's he got?
Tear gas, Sarge
lt'll wear off I said it'll wear off, son
Are you all right, son?
He's just a bit tired, Sergeant
What's his name?
Corporal Narracott, Sarge
Narracottl Eff me, I remember you
You were the one badgering me about
effing horses Corporal, that was you, wasn't it?
It's no use
Hear that, Sarge? He says it's no use
That's a shame, that's a damn shame, sir
The men are talking about him
as if he's some sort of miracle
He's half dead and I've got no one to look after him
They're going t o off the sick horse, Albert,
like you offed that German one
I had a horse once
I know you did, Albert
Joey, he was called
I know
For God's sake! Gun jammed
Sergeant? Thank you
What's going on over there? He's upsetting this horse
Get him away from here, that's an order
Get him out of here, Private Can't you see
this is hard enough without upsetting this horse?
What does he mean, I'm upsetting the horse?
What horse?
Shush Albert, we've been ordered away
The one he's about to off?
Is he answering? Is he answering to Joey?
Don't off him! Don't off the bon horse! Joey! Joey boy!
Sir, don't pull the trigger
What the hell?
Do you see that?
Joey? Joey boy, is it you?
It's his effing horse, sir
His effing horse from effing home
Hello, Joey Hello, boy
Where you been then, hey? Where you been?
What a dance you've led me
Sorry Does that hurt?
We'll mend that, we will
You're alive, you're alive, you 're alive
What a bon boy
Only the truth that in llfe we have spoken
Only the deeds when our journey is run
These shall pass onward when we are forgotten
Only remembered for what we have done
Who'll slng the anthems, who'll tell the story?
Will the line hold, will it scatter and run?
Shall we at last be united in glory?
Only remembered for what we have done
A man and a horse
It can't be