Equus

Horses are clearly in vogue for 2013 theatre. Spectacular horse puppetry is making War Horse, now playing in Melbourne, the talked-about production of the new year. Cavalia, a massive show of horses and circus performers, will open a national tour in Brisbane in March.

So it’s a good time for an independent theatre company to revive Peter Shaffer’s modern classic Equus, with its compelling psychological exploration of an obsessed young man who blinds four horses (six in the original).  The play is built on the meetings between psychiatrist Martin Dysart and his young patient Alan Strang with a series of flashbacks and cameo appearances varying the tempo.

Equus is a powerfully written play which draws us deeply into the disturbed psyche of young Alan and his obsessive religious fetishising of horses. The script is rich and layered, although with the passing of a generation it is not as unique as it appeared when written in 1973. Drilling down into madness has become more standard theatrical fare in the interim.

Four Letter Word Theatre has the perfect setting in the Revolt Art Space. The rough wood around the long narrow space converts effectively to a stable, strewn with straw and augmented with occasional bits and bridles. The audience perches across the short end and halfway down one side, providing an intimate and unusual corner viewpoint that the ensemble uses effectively. It’s a great artistic context but not a comfortable one. If your back or butt is not up to sacrificing itself for the art, bring a cushion and choose a back row bench where you can lean against the wall for support.

The use of ensemble movement to portray the horses is excellent, providing a beautiful balance between the physicality of the animals and the role they play in the disturbed mind of young Alan. Movement coach Isabella Vadiveloo  deserves a particular mention for her work in this production.

On the other hand the decision to preserve the modesty of the actor and keep Alan clothed throughout the production is weak and goes directly against the script. His naked ride is so essential to the nature of his experience that it is frankly distracting to have him in leggings. Forty-five years after Hair, why on earth is an independent theatre company being so coy?

Loughnane does a good job with the directing but the acting is less even. The young cast is sometimes self-conscious and many of the small roles feel put on with the hat or handbag used to denote them.

Ben Sheen is very strong as young Alan (a role recently reprised in London by Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, who did not keep his clothes on). Sheen maintains a good sense of both vulnerability and aggression and reins in the hysteria to provide a convincing portrayal of a disturbed adolescent.

Opposite him, Chris Runciman as the psychiatrist Dysart is disappointing. From his first movements on the stage, fussily arranging the objects on his table he seems to be acting and we are never able to forget it. He overdoes the pomposity and under does the soft underbelly of the character, so that when the denouement comes, well prefigured in the script, it seems jarring with Runciman’s Dysart.

Among the bit players only Hayley Roberts as Alan’s mother manages to give us a rounded and believable character, capturing the confusion, love and defensiveness of a mother appalled by what her son has done.

Forty years on, Equus is still a strong play and this production, although uneven, is a good opportunity to revisit a powerful work of modern theatre.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Equus