The National Theater of Britain's widely successful production, War Horse, will return to Beijing from August 8 to September 9, and tour other Chinese cities. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In September 2015, the National Theater of Britain's widely successful production, War Horse, hit the Chinese stage in Beijing thanks to the National Theater of China.

Since then, the Chinese version of the adaptation has been touring around the country. With more than 200 shows and attracting audiences totaling more than 200,000, the production will return to Beijing from August 8 to September 9, which will be followed by performances in other Chinese cities, including Chongqing and Shijiazhuang, Hebei province.

"We return to the capital every summer since the play's premiere four years ago and the production has been acclaimed as a phenomenon by both critics and audiences," says Wang Tingting, co-director of the play in Beijing. "War Horse is a tale of hope and friendship against the backdrop of war. It caters to people of all ages and we worked hard on the translation, the script and the music to make the play resonate with Chinese audiences."

Based on British writer Michael Morpurgo's 1982 novel of the same name, War Horse has proved to be the British theater's most successful play. It was first performed by the National Theatre at the Olivier Theatre in London in 2007 and had a seven-year run in the West End, toured 10 countries and was seen by more than 7 million people around the world.

In 2011, Hollywood director, Steven Spielberg, turned the World War I story about an English farm boy, Albert, and his beloved horse, Joey, into critically-acclaimed, box-office smash-which was subsequently nominated for six Oscars, including best picture.

Li Dong, a producer with the National Theater of China, says he first watched the play at the West End in August 2011 and was so impressed that he decided to bring it to China.

The National Theater of Britain's widely successful production, War Horse, will return to Beijing from August 8 to September 9, and tour other Chinese cities. [Photo provided to China Daily]

One of the biggest challenges for the actors was performing the lead role, that of manipulating the 2.4-meter-tall horse, Joey, which was no small feat considering it weighs 54 kilograms. It took 14 people eight months to make, and cost about 3.6 million yuan (US$544,229).

Co-directors Wang, and Liu Dan, along with puppetry director Liu Xiaoyi and a team of technicians, traveled to London in January 2014 for training on how to stage the play. Puppet master Tommy Luther, who helped with casting the horse operators, arrived in Beijing several months before the show's premiere to prepare the team.

"For about a year, we received strict training from the UK War Horse team," recalls Liu Xiaoyi, who is also a puppet actor in the show. "We practiced physically because the puppet is very heavy. We also studied with zoologists to learn and understand how horses move, breath and think."

He adds that, during the past four years, new actors have joined the production and have received training from senior actors.

"For the three actors who manipulate Joey, they have to think, move and breath like one horse," he explains.

11-year-old Tong Xinran is a big fan of the production. She watched War Horse performed by actors of the National Theater of China on a TV program in 2016 and became interested in the horse, Joey.

Her mother bought her the book and she has also watched Spielberg's film adaptation.

"I read the book three times and I think Joey is very cool," says Tong. "When I finally saw Joey in the theater, he is cooler than I thought. He is just like a real horse."

If you go

7:30pm, Aug 8 and Sept 9. National Theater of China, 277 Guang'anmenwai Street, Xicheng district, Beijing. 4006-101-101.