WATCHING a live theatre performance of a show there has been so much hype around can often be disappointing against the weight of expectation – but not War Horse.

The expectation of the National Theatre’s adaption of Michael Morpurgo’s novel was, above all, to witness some truly outstanding puppetry at the heart of a moving story. The reality is nothing short of magic.

The Handspring Puppet Company brings Joey the war horse to life on stage in a way that has to be seen to be fully appreciated.

It will no doubt be what the audience leaves The Lowry each night throughout June talking about, and rightly so, but it is far from everything War Horse has to offer.

Morpurgo’s story of War Horse follows the incredible life of a hunting horse in Devon. Set during the First World War, the horse, named Joey, forms an unbreakable bond with a teenage boy, Albert, before being sold to the British cavalry and shipped off to the front line in France.

Heartbroken at the loss of his companion, Albert, played by Thomas Dennis, enlists to join the war at the age of 16 with the sole purpose of tracking down his beloved Joey.

The novel was brought to screens in 2011 in the popular film of the same name. But Nick Stafford’s theatre adaption brings the story to life in ways it could never have been thought possible.

We first see Joey as a young and frightened foal finding his feet, before the cast join in full choir to provide the backdrop to the spine-tingling reveal of the fully-grown horse, brought to life by puppeteers Tom Stacy, Lewis Howard and Lucas Button.

The first act tugs on the heart strings as the audience is sucked into the unique and ill-fated love story between Albert and Joey.

The second act launches straight into the trenches and pulls no punches in its attempt to capture the harsh contrast of innocence thrust into the blood bath of war.

Startlingly loud gunfire forces the audience to experience the scene through the eyes of the animals and young men who found themselves taken from their quiet farm lives in Devon and dropped in the midst of a battle - in which new weapons left no place for cavalry.

The puppetry on display at War Horse is better than great expectations can muster. But it is no danger overshadowing this unique and heart-wrenching theatre production.