INFORMAL: INTERVIEW WITH RIANNA ASH, THOMAS GOODRIDGE & CHRIS MILFORD

INFORMAL - AN INTERVIEW SERIES

RIANNA ASH; THOMAS GOODRIDGE; CHRIS MILFORD

The charming trio of Rianna Ash, Thomas Goodridge and Chris Milford are appearing as puppeteers in the tour of the National Theatre's groundbreaking production of War Horse, playing both Joey and Tophorn.

Last week I chatted to the three of them ahead of watching the show for the first time and I was interested to know how much time they were actually on stage: "A lot!" says Thomas. Rianna expands: "On a Joey show we're is in nearly every scene. We say that with Joey it's a marathon because of the length of time we're on but with Tophorn is like a sprint because although he's on less but he's quite fiery."

This sounds like no mean feat and I asked how many shows they did as each character: "We rotate, usually doing four horse shows a week" explains Chris. "Two as Joey and two as Tophorn, and then four ensemble shows. The other teams all rotate around that."

The three of them work as a team: "Team Red" Thomas proudly proclaims. "We tend to stay in our team unless someone's off with illness or injury" says Rianna. "We create a language together. When filling in on another team you have to learn their language" interjects Chris.

I was interested in the background of the three performers and how they came to being puppeteers in the production: "We come from different backgrounds and disciplins" reveals Thomas. "I'm a singer and actor, now puppeteer! I sort of fell into it and didn't know anything about puppetry until it found me. I'm primarily a singer and have come from musical theatre."

"I'm also used to work predominantly in musical theatre" says Chris. "Ten years ago I went into War Horse and have kind of stayed in the puppetry world ever since. It's a full circle moment to come back into War Horse for this tour."

Rianna didn't come from musical theatre as the other two did: "I trained as an actor but always loved the physical theatre side of my training, and I also have a very extensive sports background so acting and sports together makes puppetry!"

War Horse has been touring for a year now and I wondered about their experiences on tour: "Our first venue was Wimbledon so it's really nice to be back here again, and actually realise how quickly the time has gone. It's been great to explore loads of different cities along the way" enthuses Rianna. "We always tend to do something in every place as a cast."

"We've done hiking, paddle boarding, watched a hockey match and just done loads of touristy things" says Thomas excitedly. "It's kind of like a 'pinch me' moment because we're getting paid to go to these places!"

"It's nice to remember this time last year when we hardly knew each other and look at how we've evolved as a company in that time" concludes Chris.

War Horse is such an incredible show which has everyone raving. At the time of this interview I hadn't seen the show, but had heard so many good things about it. I was interested what they think makes this show so special: "You quickly become so emotionally invested in the characters, the storytelling and the puppetry. It's a powerful show and people keep coming back. It's a simple story so powerfully told that you can't help but fall in love with Joey and the other characters" explains Thomas.

"I think it's really unique for a show to have the central character as an animal" says Rianna. "A lot of humans can connect with their love of animals and seeing animals go through what they are in this show really hits people as it's something they've not really seen on stage before."

Joey is obviously a huge part of the show, and team red are one of four teams that bring him to life each night. I asked whether they thought each team gave Joey a different character to which they answered in unison "Definitely!"

Chris elaborates: "In rehearsals we did a great exercise where we had a massive piece of paper and in our teams we wrote down what we think the personality of Joey is. At the end of the session the paper was full of suggestions and then we can even pick different personalities for him on different evenings. They all work because there are so many things that ecompass what Joey is, but each team has their own personality as well because each team of three has created something unique."

"It keeps it fresh as well" adds Rianna. "Because we could decide to be a bit cheekier one night for example." "It also depends on how the actors interact with us" says Chris. "Sometimes they might be angrier or come closer than usual, so it can change depending on that too."

So why should people go and see War Horse?: "It's a very special show and I think it's a really good time to see it as well. The show has evolved so much over the years and this adaption is really special with new characters, new projections and some scenes have been rewritten" enthuses Chris.

"There's more women in the show and you follow a bit more of the story of the women who are left at home when the men go off to war." says Rianna. Thomas concludes with "The show just tugs at your heartstrings."

The bond is evident between the three of them and you can feel a real camaraderie between them. Their passion for their puppets and the show is joyous and really comes across.

War Horse continues performances at London's New Wimbledon Theatre until Saturday 16th August. Click here for tickets.

You can read my full 5 star review of War Hose here

Interview conducted by Neill Kovacic-Clarke for Pink Prince Theatre on 06/08/25

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