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toomanybooks166 's review for:
Equus
by Peter Shaffer
For our generation’s readers, whenever the word “equus” is spoken aloud, the first image brought to mind is not the mystery that envelopes those two syllables, but instead a naked Daniel Radcliffe straddling a mechanical horse. While there is no denying the existence of said production, what lies beyond proves to be a psychologically tantalizing story in which a terrifying battle arises between devious desires and religious dominations.
The controversial Tony Award winner begins as psychiatrist Martin Dysart is asked to take on a shocking case as a favor to magistrate and friend Hesther. Described as a study that will disgust doctors everywhere, it is then stated that seventeen-year-old Alan Strang has been found guilty of senselessly blinding six horses with a metal spike over the course of a single night. Though he is initially reluctant to take on more work, Dysart becomes intrigued with the case and agrees to take the traumatized boy under his wing.
Within the beginning sessions, Alan attests as a difficult patient, answering only in jingles and isolating himself whenever asked anything personal, particularly his experiences with horses. However, his nightmares suggest otherwise, as what is repressed during the day continues to haunt him throughout his nights at the hospital.
With the help of both outside information and several therapy methods, the determined Dysart manages to coax his patient out of silence and into reenacting his deepest thoughts leading up to the infamous night. Nonetheless, when unhinged passion is brought forth by the boy’s almighty deity “Equus”, both doctor and patient are left to search for light amid their now darkened interpretations of society’s confines.
Though the play uses a single space in order to depict a variety of settings and mimed props, the simplicity conducted during the story’s telling relays with thought-provoking genius. Among the play’s notable qualities is the relationship dynamics exhibited in both the doctor-patient link and between Alan and his parents. Upon the interviews that the doctor conducts with Frank and Dora Strang (both as a duo and separately), we become acquainted with Alan’s strict upbringing in a house found at odds. Whether it was the divide between devout Christianity and staunch atheism or neglecting to educate their son about sex, the author succeeds in demonstrating the rigid influence a parent has over their child’s maturation, even in fictional form. As for Alan’s growing liaison with his
psychiatrist, though conflict emerges in Alan’s fearful aversion to admitting his actions, a trust is established between the two as Alan begins to associate Dysart as someone who can take away his pain.
However, as the play’s message comes to a close, it is then that the reader begins to realize that the significance of the title word lies not only as the Latin word for “horse” or as the mighty god-like figure on which Alan pledges his allegiance. The word itself relays as the driving force among the characters that intermingles their religious inquiries with the mind’s secret desires. Equus is not solely the dominating idol that distorts Alan’s views of civilization to the point of unthinkable madness; it is also what binds Dysart to a career that forces him to continuously probe the tortured psyche, despite his knowing that he cannot help end Alan’s misery entirely.
From the moment that Dysart becomes acquainted with Alan Strang’s sentence to the crime’s horrifying reenactment, playwright Peter Shaffer builds upon an inconceivable tale that coaxes readers to delve into the inner sanctum of our distortions with an ending that will leave the reader haunted hours later.
The controversial Tony Award winner begins as psychiatrist Martin Dysart is asked to take on a shocking case as a favor to magistrate and friend Hesther. Described as a study that will disgust doctors everywhere, it is then stated that seventeen-year-old Alan Strang has been found guilty of senselessly blinding six horses with a metal spike over the course of a single night. Though he is initially reluctant to take on more work, Dysart becomes intrigued with the case and agrees to take the traumatized boy under his wing.
Within the beginning sessions, Alan attests as a difficult patient, answering only in jingles and isolating himself whenever asked anything personal, particularly his experiences with horses. However, his nightmares suggest otherwise, as what is repressed during the day continues to haunt him throughout his nights at the hospital.
With the help of both outside information and several therapy methods, the determined Dysart manages to coax his patient out of silence and into reenacting his deepest thoughts leading up to the infamous night. Nonetheless, when unhinged passion is brought forth by the boy’s almighty deity “Equus”, both doctor and patient are left to search for light amid their now darkened interpretations of society’s confines.
Though the play uses a single space in order to depict a variety of settings and mimed props, the simplicity conducted during the story’s telling relays with thought-provoking genius. Among the play’s notable qualities is the relationship dynamics exhibited in both the doctor-patient link and between Alan and his parents. Upon the interviews that the doctor conducts with Frank and Dora Strang (both as a duo and separately), we become acquainted with Alan’s strict upbringing in a house found at odds. Whether it was the divide between devout Christianity and staunch atheism or neglecting to educate their son about sex, the author succeeds in demonstrating the rigid influence a parent has over their child’s maturation, even in fictional form. As for Alan’s growing liaison with his
psychiatrist, though conflict emerges in Alan’s fearful aversion to admitting his actions, a trust is established between the two as Alan begins to associate Dysart as someone who can take away his pain.
However, as the play’s message comes to a close, it is then that the reader begins to realize that the significance of the title word lies not only as the Latin word for “horse” or as the mighty god-like figure on which Alan pledges his allegiance. The word itself relays as the driving force among the characters that intermingles their religious inquiries with the mind’s secret desires. Equus is not solely the dominating idol that distorts Alan’s views of civilization to the point of unthinkable madness; it is also what binds Dysart to a career that forces him to continuously probe the tortured psyche, despite his knowing that he cannot help end Alan’s misery entirely.
From the moment that Dysart becomes acquainted with Alan Strang’s sentence to the crime’s horrifying reenactment, playwright Peter Shaffer builds upon an inconceivable tale that coaxes readers to delve into the inner sanctum of our distortions with an ending that will leave the reader haunted hours later.