War Horse, the West End hit about a boy, his horse and the First World war, will trot into Toronto in spring 2012, according to Nicholas Hytner, artistic director of the UK's National Theatre.
While discussing the National's annual report this week, Hytner revealed that War Horse -- which has been a cash cow for his theatre since transferring to the West End for a commercial run -- has a Canadian debut in the works, though whether that will be a Canadian production or the kick-off to a North American tour is unclear. A spokesperson at the National Theatre said the exact details were still being worked out. Mirvish Productions is a likely partner.
War Horse, which features truly remarkable life-size horse puppets designed and operated by the Handspring Puppet Company, is a tear-jerking crowd-pleaser that made a £2.5m surplus for the publicly funded National this season. Despite its sentimental moments, I was completely bowled over by it when I finally caught it on the West End this summer.
Before War Horse makes its way to Toronto, it's headed for Broadway in 2011 and is being adapted into a movie by Steven Spielberg.
In related news, Canadian fans of the National Theatre should know that NT Live is about to start its second season broadcasting to movie theatres around the world. First up is Complicite's A Disappearing Number, a visually impressive creation inspired by the life and work of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. It hits theatres on October 14. (I saw it at the Barbican a few years ago and wrote about its depiction of mathematics here.)