Tony-Winning Designers Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler on the ‘Visual Poetry’ of War Horse

Puppeteers help bring the story of a boy and his loyal horse to life in the national tour of War Horse. Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones, whose Handspring Puppet Company created the life-like creatures, told the San Francisco Chronicle that their puppets form a “visual poetry” on stage. Find out more about the award-winning puppets of War Horse, which plays Atlanta from September 25 through September 30.

Jones told the Chronicle that it was his art background made him realize that “puppets could be quite sculptural, quite elegant.” Jones and Kohler’s delightful designs led them to a special Tony Award in 2011. War Horse also won the Tony for Best Play.

Based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse is the story of young Albert’s beloved horse, Joey, who has been enlisted to fight for the English in World War I. Despite not being of age to enlist, Albert embarks on a dangerous mission to find his horse and bring him home.

“It's a simple story, but it allows us to question the notion of war because it's told from the perspective of the horse, an animal that has no way of making a choice,” Jones said. “Through the animal's eyes, you see how futile war really is.”

In order to make the hard-hitting message of war resonate with audiences, Jones explained that the horse characters in the show had to strike an emotional chord. “With the puppets in War Horse, it's about visual poetry and the size, muscular warmth and athleticism of a beautiful, emotional animal.” Kohler said. He added, “Puppets are a trick to do that, but it's a complex interaction of imagination and storytelling.”