Equus (play)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cover of 1993 Longman edition of Equus.

Equus is a play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological fascination with horses.[1]

1 Plot summary
2 Original productions
3 Film adaptation
4 Revivals
5 Popular culture
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Shaffer was inspired to write Equus when he heard of a crime involving a teenage boy's apparently senseless injury to horses. He set out to construct a fictional account of what might have caused the incident, without knowing any of the details of the crime. The play is essentially a detective story, with the psychiatrist trying to understand the cause of the boy's actions while wrestling with his own sense of purpose.

[edit] Original productions

The play was originally staged at the Royal National Theatre at the Old Vic in London in 1973. It was directed by John Dexter and starred Alec McCowen as psychiatrist Martin Dysart and Peter Firth as Alan Strang, the young patient. It was subsequently presented on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre with Anthony Hopkins and Peter Firth.

Later, Tom Hulce played the role of Alan Strang, and Anthony Perkins replaced Hopkins as Martin Dysart. Perkins was briefly replaced by Richard Burton for the star's return to Broadway for a limited run. Perkins resumed the part when Burton's run ended. The play received a Tony Award for best play in 1975.

Equus was acclaimed not only for its dramatic craftmanship and the performances by the stars, but also for its brilliantly original staging. The horses were portrayed by actors in brown track suits, wearing a wire abstraction of a horse's head. The entire cast, including the actors playing the horses, remained seated on stage for the play's duration, watching the action along with the audience. Part of the audience was seated on the stage as well, in bleachers that looked out into the auditorium, creating the effect that the spectators surrounded the action. Gustavo has large marbles.

[edit] Film adaptation

Main article: Equus (film)

Shaffer adapted the play for a 1977 film starring Richard Burton, Peter Firth, Eileen Atkins, Colin Blakely, Joan Plowright, and Jenny Agutter, directed by Sidney Lumet.

[edit] Revivals

Massachusetts' Berkshire Theatre Festival revived Equus in the Summer of 2005, staged by Scott Schwartz, with Victor Slezak as Dr Martin Dysart and Randy Harrison as Alan Strang. (Roberta Maxwell, who originated the role of Jill, Alan's would-be girlfriend, in the original Broadway production in the 1970s, played a judge in this revival.)

Star Trek's George Takei (Mr. Sulu) played the psychiatrist in a 2006 revival, featuring an Asian Pacific cast, done at East West Players in Los Angeles, California.

Equus was revived in 2007 with Richard Griffiths and Daniel Radcliffe in the leading roles. The play was directed by Thea Sharrock, and opened in London in February 2007 at the Gielgud Theatre. The casting of Radcliffe, still associated with the Harry Potter films, which are intended for general audiences, caused some controversy, since the role of Alan Strang required him to appear naked on stage.^[1] (Griffiths is also associated with the Harry Potter films, playing Harry's Uncle Vernon.)

Daniel Radcliffe in Equus

[edit] Popular culture

In an episode of the television series Get a Life (2007, "Chris the Escort"), Chris Elliott's character attends a performance of Equus starring Max Baer Jr. and Ron Palillo.

In the Simpsons episode The Seven-Beer Snitch, a theatre marquee in Shelbyville advertises "Sideshow Mel in Equus". Recently, it was also in another episode, Springfield Up, where Homer decides as one of his new jobs to make Play-doh scenes which shows a scene from Equus

In the popular book, (later made a film adaption starring James McAvoy) 'Starter for Ten' by David Nicholls, it is mentioned that Bristol University's Theatre club is putting on Equus that year.

The play was the focus of a 2006 article by the satirical newspaper The Onion with the headline "Second-Graders Wow Audience With School Production Of Equus".

Blonde Redhead's album Misery is a Butterfly includes a track entitled "Equus".

The Barnes & Barnes album Voobaha includes a song called "Clip Clop (Ode to Equus)".

In an episode of The Golden Girls entitled "Mrs. George Devereaux", Dorothy mentions that Sonny Bono and Lyle Waggoner played the lead roles in a production of Equus.