Actor's school visit makes 'core memory' for pupils

Joey the foal - and his crew of puppeteers - met pupils in Derbyshire

A former school caretaker brought some of his new stage colleagues - including a large horse puppet - to Derbyshire to meet the children he used to work with.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, actor Karl Haynes, from Ilkeston, worked as a classroom assistant, cleaner and handyman at Ladywood Primary in nearby Kirk Hallam.

But he is now back on stage and plays the role of Ted Narracott in the touring production of Michael Morpurgo's War Horse.

Mr Haynes returned to the school on Friday with fellow actors, puppeteers and a foal model, and head teacher Melanie Lawson said the visit "made a core memory" for the children.

Miss Lawson said the idea came after the school booked a trip to see the production during its visit to Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall.

Melanie Lawson said she pulled some strings to arrange for the puppet to visit

She said: "It was incredible - we're a small school in Kirk Hallam but we have big hopes and dreams.

"We were really lucky to have incredible puppeteers, actors and production staff come to the school.

"Mr Haynes has multiple roles when he joined us in lockdown, so the children who saw the show knew who he was.

"The kids were able to interact with the baby horse called Joey, it did feel like there was a real baby horse in the hall."

Mr Haynes said he has been on the road since September

The novel was first adapted for the stage in 2007, and has toured the West End, Broadway and around the UK since.

Mr Haynes said the puppets like the one he helped bring to meet the schoolchildren in Kirk Hallam "are immense", and took eight months to build and three people to operate.

He added: "I've invested a lot of time into this school as a cleaner, caretaker and handyman, so to see the children's reactions was one of the best moments of my acting career."