War Horse smashes Festival Theatre ticket record

War Horse is set to make its Scottish debut in Edinburgh. Picture: Contributed

The Edinburgh Festival Theatre has revealed that 96 per cent of seats have been booked despite the acclaimed show having a three-and-a-half week run at the venue.

Staff said the National Theatre’s show has smashed all box-office records in the 20-year history of the venue, with more than 57,000 seats sold so far.

The play, which is based on the book of the same name by children’s writer Michael Morpurgo, has been a stage sensation since it opened in London almost seven years ago.

The show, famous for its life-size puppetry, revolves around a young boy whose horse is requisitioned to fight for the British cause in the First World War.

The production, which has had a two-year run on Broadway, had already been seen by four million people before it started a tour of the UK and Ireland in October.

However, anyone thinking of seeing the show in Scotland is being urged to buy their seats as soon as possible, with the Festival Theatre’s website reporting the show is “almost completely sold out”.

Two-thirds of shows in the Edinburgh run, from 22 January until 15 February, have sold out, despite tickets costing up to £65 each, with only limited seats in the 1,900-capacity venue now available.

Sales for the show were opened well over a year in advance, in October 2012.

Chris Harper, the show’s producer, said: “We are delighted that audiences have embraced the Scottish premiere of War Horse at the Festival Theatre so wildly and the company is looking forward to bringing the show to this magnificent theatre.”