The West End is in for more World War I drama in the next year with the news that the National Theatre’s acclaimed production of War Horse has extended its booking period at the New London Theatre to 14 February 2015.
Nick Stafford’s hit adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s novel, which is now in its seventh year in London, will also see a new cast take the reins from 17 March.
Former star of the NT’s hit production The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, Jack Loxton will take over as young Albert Narracott, who enlists in the army to follow his beloved horse to the battlefield, alongside a cast including Lisa Stevenson, Simon Wolfe, Drew Dillon, Matthew Flynn, Pernilla Holland, Ian Houghton, Elan James, Richard Katz and Chris Kelham.
More than two million people have now seen Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris’ production of the wartime drama, which opened at the National’s Olivier Theatre in 2007 featuring a cast including 2013 Olivier Award winner Luke Treadaway.
The show’s extension means that an additional 130,000 audience members will get the chance to see the show at the New London Theatre. Even more will be able to watch it on 27 February when the production is broadcast to cinemas worldwide for the first time as part of NT Live.
Tonight the show, which features Handspring Puppet Company’s iconic life-size puppets, will celebrate a staggering 2,000 performances in the capital, while elsewhere Morpurgo’s charming tale is being enjoyed by audiences in North America, Berlin and Edinburgh as part of a national tour.