As the son of the former artist ­director of Scottish Ballet, ­Ashley Page, Jordan spent much of his ­childhood watching rehearsals and shows in the major theatres of both cities and his return to Glasgow’s Royal Theatre earlier this year has been one of the highlights of his career.

“I’ve never performed as a ­professional actor in Scotland ­before, so the opportunity to go to both ­Edinburgh and Glasgow has been a real bucket list thing,” he told the Sunday National.

“When I went back to the Theatre Royal, which is where all the Scottish ballet performances would usually go on, it really felt like I was back home – even just talking about it makes me feel a little bit emotional.”

(Image: Brinkhoff Mögenburg)

The tour moved south again ­after the Glasgow run but is heading to Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre from ­October 2 to October 11. It will be another special moment for Jordan, as he studied psychology at ­Edinburgh University before pursuing an acting career.

“It will be really cool to go back as I saw things at the Festival Theatre a lot and I was part of the Edinburgh Fringe,” he said.

This tour of War Horse marks 110 years since the start of the First World War and follows the 40th anniversary of the publication of Michael Morpurgo’s global best-selling novel, which has now sold more than two million copies worldwide in 44 different languages.

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War Horse received its world premiere in London nearly two decades ago and since then has been seen in 100 cities in 14 countries, including productions on Broadway, Toronto and Berlin, with touring productions in the UK and Ireland, North America, the ­Netherlands and Belgium.

The show tells the remarkable story of a young boy called Albert and his horse Joey, set against the backdrop of the First World War and featuring incredible puppet horses made by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company.

Joey is the boy’s best friend but is sold off to the army and ends up on the frontline with a million other horses that had to face the horror of war.

Jordan is one of the ­puppeteers ­playing Joey as a foal and has a ­number of other parts in the ­production, ­ranging from an officer in the army to a Glaswegian private.

“It’s a wealth of opportunity for me because all the parts are very ­different,” he said.

The puppets are ground-breaking creations which can portray a range of emotions thanks to the skill of the ­actors who operate them.

“The puppets are amazing,” said Jordan. “I think it takes around six months to make just one of the big horses and it’s ­difficult physically to be one of the big horse puppeteers because they weigh so much.”

There are 15 actors who operate the puppets, and before the show started touring, they visited the Household Cavalry to see how horses interact with the military.

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“We did a sort of horse academy or puppetry school where we learned about horse behaviour and what their emotions are like so that we could get a sense of how they feel,” said Jordan. “It helped to develop an empathy for how horses think and react.

“You start to really get in tune with them as beings that have their own personalities. To think of them basically being forced to charge at machine guns and be torn to bits is almost unbelievable. Even worse is that they wouldn’t have been killed instantly a lot of the time. No man’s land was a terrible place for both ­humans and animals.”

While the show is set during the First World War, the central focus is the relationships between the ­people and the animals, which is one of the reasons for the show’s longevity, ­Jordan believes.

“That’s really what the common denominator is in any conflict – how people are affected, the loss they have and the pain they experience,” he said.

It’s a very moving show which has produced standing ovations ­everywhere the cast has played.

“Unfortunately, there will always be conflicts in the world that we can point to and go, oh god, it’s so ­relevant right now,” said Jordan. “I think that’s another reason for the show’s longevity.”

He added: “War Horse as a book gets studied a lot in school, which is fantastic, as kids can study the book, then see it come to life in front of them in a really creative way with the puppets.

“Obviously, there is a film of War Horse, and that’s fantastic too, but I think there’s something unique about being in a space where you’re seeing the story being told. It’s a story that has resonance with all ages.”