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Equus: Intense and dark... but captivating
Equus, Actors' Workshop Studio Group, St James Street, Halifax
Psychiatrist Martin Dysart trawls the tormented soul of stable boy Alan Strang to find what drove the teenager to blind five horses with a metal spike.
Urging Strang to confront his past, he unearths a repressed childhood forged by dogged, domineering parents who unwittingly lead their son to become fixated with the horse as an object of worship and desire.
Years later, a chance encounter with local stablehand Jill Mason gives Strang the opportunity to work alone with the animals, enabling him to act out his bizarre fantasies.
A disastrous dalliance with Jill in the stable triggers the youth's disturbed psyche. Believing the horses witnessed his humiliation, he mutilates them in a sickening act of barbarism.
Through twisting verbal exchanges, Strang also stabs at the psychiatrist's vulnerabilities leading the doctor to contemplate his own self-doubts and his unfulfilling marriage.
Under the expert direction of Lottie Ward, Equus is, at times, overwhelmingly dark and intense but it remains captivating throughout, demanding powerful performances.
Nicholas Stevenson is electrifying as the troubled teenager. Keith Royston is magnificent as Dysart. His monologues are compelling, as are his exchanges with the disturbed lad and his parents, played superbly by Stuart Davison and Carole Kaye. Fine supporting roles also come from Amy Jagger as Jill Mason, Stephen Holt, Judith Forbes and Marian Feather as the local magistrate. The horses are imaginatively portrayed by actors.
A highly recommended play, although it does contain nudity and strong language.
It runs until Saturday.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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