The Lowry welcomed Joey, the life-size puppet horse to Salford to celebrate the launch of the north west première of War Horse, which comes to the Salford venue in November.
Joey, who was seen saluting Her Majesty The Queen at her Diamond Jubilee celebrations last year, made his first visit to the region, had a trot around The Lowry’s Box Office and braved the snow for a quick canter on The Quays.
Operated on stage by three trained puppeteers—known as Joey Head, Joey Heart and Joey Hind—the three create the character and produce the horse noises.
Since War Horse opened at the National in October 2007, it has been seen by more than three million people worldwide and won multiple awards including two Laurence Olivier Awards and six Tony Awards.
With almost 50,000 tickets already sold, The Lowry’s nine-week run (November 20 –January 18) is set to be the most successful show in their 12-year history and the venue could potentially welcome more than 100,000 people to see this production.
It is the powerful story of a young boy called Albert and his beloved horse, who has been requisitioned to fight for the English in World War One.