London Classic Theatre: Equus 2011

EQUUS - 2011

By Peter Shaffer
Directed by Michael Cabot
Designed by Kerry Bradley
Lighting by Paul Green
Costumes by Katja Krzesinska

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"Quite simply, this is the kind of show for which awards are given"

WhatsOnStage

"A compelling and thought-provoking piece of theatre"
Berwick Advertiser

"Astonishing theatricality...beautifully lit and staged"
Hexham Courant

CAST:

Carole Dance, Steve Dineen, Aidan Downing, Malcolm James, Anna Kirke, Jamie Matthewman, Matthew Pattimore, Helen Phillips

SELECTED VENUES:

Lawrence Batley Theatre Huddersfield, Buxton Opera House, Theatre Royal Winchester, Oldham Coliseum, Gala Theatre Durham

PETER LEWIS - HEXHAM COURANT

"You know it's autumn when the leaves begin to drop and the Queen's Hall wakes up from its self-imposed summer cultural coma and the stage lights are once more switched on. The new season has certainly opened with theatrical fireworks.

Entering the auditorium, the audience saw a large Christian circle and cross, a stone circular Greek temple/theatre centre stage with the heads of six beautiful horses suspended above. It took my breath away. It proved to be the perfect setting for that most ritualistic of modern plays, Peter Shaffer's Equus.

The play is a tough on, every bit as shocking as Oedipus Rex or the bloodiest of Shakespeare's tragedies, with its battle to understand the motives of evil actions and our responses to it. Ambivalence is still the order of the day.

Alan Strang, a 17-year-old boy, the only son of a religiously zealous mother and a repressed atheistical father, has inexplicably blinded six horses with a metal spike. The magistrates have referred him to an overworked and domestically unhappy psychiatrist, Martin Dysart, whose task is to elicit the motives for the actions.

It's a chilling and compelling play that is intellectually and emotionally tough. Gradually, we discover that the boy has become sexually and religiously stimulated by the eroticism of horseflesh.

Nearly four decades on some of the psychiatry sounds trite. The character of Dysart is perhaps the shallowest of all. In this production, by the ever brilliant London Classic Theatre, the director Michael Cabot has emphasised the ritual nature of the play. All eight cast members remain on stage throughout like a Greek Chorus and the action never involves an extraneous gesture or move.

Matthew Pattimore is a totally believable teenager and acts with great subtlety. Malcolm James copes well with some of the difficult speeches of Dysart and the rest of the company; Helen Phillips, Carole Dance, Anna Kirke, Steve Dineen, Jamie Matthewman and Aidan Downing are more than occasional players. This is a very strong company.

Some astonishing theatricality brings the stallion Nugget vividly to life. At the end of the first half and again at the end the actors were treated to that rarest of compliments - total silence and only then profound applause.

I have been writing theatre reviews locally for well over 20 years and I consider that this production by LCT is the most beautifully constructed, lit and staged that I can remember gracing the stage of the Queen's Hall.

Let us hope that Michael Cabot and LCT can be persuaded to return. In these difficult time, when the Philistines are tightening the cultural purse strings, we need live theatre of this quality."

PAUL LUCAS-SCOTT - WHATSONSTAGE *****

"Alan Strang is a troubled teenager. Not just your average troubled teenager, he’s taken it to the max. His mind has been affected by a passion so intense that it has led him to commit a crime which, in the minds of the masses, is so evil, so hideous, that only a lifetime in prison would be suitable recompense - the blinding of six horses with a metal hoof-pick.

The only alternative to endless incarceration lies in the hands of Martin Dysart, a noted child psychiatrist. He is believed to have the ability to unlock this troubled mind and to find answers to the many questions that surround the incident, but it is very obvious from the outset that this will be no easy task.

Matthew Pattimore is quite simply superb as the disturbed teenager. He swings from moments of unbridled aggression to silently sitting and staring into nothing, from raging against those who try to help him to tenderly embracing his favourite horse, Nugget. His performance is so good that, far from being revolted by him, the audience is encouraged to look past his crime and to see him for what he is, a confused boy overflowing with inner demons.

As the psychiatrist, Malcolm James is equally accomplished. He continues to display an outward professionalism despite fighting some inner demons of his own. Held together by his desire to help the boy he struggles with both his loveless marriage and his unexpected jealousy at the passion which burns brightly inside the teenager.

The trouble with two such strong central performances is that the rest of the London Classic Theatre company could easily become eclipsed if it wasn’t for the fact that they themselves are so strong. Steve Dineen and Anna Kirke playing Alan’s atheist father and ultra-religious mother skilfully introduce facts into the tale, as does Helen Phillips as the stable girl who attempts to become Alan’s first sexual partner.

Another fantastic performance is given by Aidan Downing as the object of Alan’s intense passion, the horse Nugget. He faithfully recreates the movements of the animal with only a gold horse head to help create the creature. From the sound of his 'galloping hooves' to the gentle and tender nuzzling of his head against Alan’s, every movement is realistically fashioned.

Quite simply, this is the kind of show for which awards are given. Skilfully written, expertly performed and, with no pun intended, a piece that is well worth seeing."

HARRY MOTTRAM - WESTERN DAILY PRESS *****

"One fights and fornicates, the other analyses and agonises. One fits and swears, the other argues and articulates. Two protagonists: teenage horse mutilator Alan Strang and child psychiatrist Martin Dysart square up to each other in Peter Shaffer’s 1970s psychological drama and brutally deconstruct each other. Or rather the essential story lies in the one unpicking the other and then unpicking himself to a state of nervous collapse.

Michael Cabot’s production for London Classic Theatre was marked by its ability to command the complete attention of the audience of a packed Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton. A striking amphitheatre set by Kerry Bradley of mock marble curved seating and horses’ heads brilliantly lit by Paul Green is set before a suspended circle of hay and vast crucifix while below are an ever present ensemble cast of eight, dressed in muted colours and casually appropriate costumes. They create a strangely hypnotic atmosphere with their downcast faces - an atmosphere that doesn’t let up until the interval.

Malcolm James as Martin Dysart is dry, direct and disarming as the doctor who attempts to unravel the complexities and contradictions of Alan Strang, played by Matthew Pattimore - a hyper tense knot of contorted teenage angst, constricted by his parents and by his inner sexual demons that mixed in unequal portions Christianity, sexuality and a passion for horses.

Exceptional performances came from Carole Dance as Heather - Dysart’s confidante - Steve Dineen as the bombastic father who bullies and misunderstands his son and Jamie Matthewman as Harry, while Anna Kirke as Alan’s mum added depth to a woman who could have been two dimensional. Aidan Downing was brilliant at the horse Nugget while Helen Phillips as Jill brought a warmth and humanity to her role that so nearly rescued Alan.

It’s a stunning play, known for its nudity and its erotic equestrianism. It’s a modern classic. And in this production the powerful script is combined with a sense of theatre too infrequently experienced."

JEREMY MILES - BOURNEMOUTH ECHO

"Even though it was written nearly 40 years ago Peter Shaffer’s Equus remains a frighteningly relevant drama. Michael Cabot’s new production shines an unflinching light on the ills of a society that reacts without understanding. Based on a true-life incident, it focuses on a brilliant psychiatrist treating a delusional 17-year-old stable-lad who has blinded six horses with a metal spike.

As the angry public bay for retribution, the doctor discovers that his patient, Alan Strang, has been failed by both his family and the education system. The psychoanalytical profile that emerges is casebook gold for students of Freud and Lacan. Strang is sexually obsessed with horses and consumed by a complex inner-world that combines worship and myth.

Malcolm James is superb as Dr Martin Dysart - tired, frustrated and (despite the appalling crime) increasingly in awe of his patient’s ability to escape the drab reality of small-town life.

Matthew Pattimore, as Strang meanwhile, gives a performance that perfectly conveys the isolation, desperation and fear of the severely disturbed..

An excellent set, atmospheric lighting and a fine supporting cast, including several actors playing horses, makes for a memorable production."

RICHARD HOOTON - OLDHAM CHRONICLE

"Originally staged in 1973, Equus is a psychological thriller that explores the complex relationships between worship, myth and sexuality.

It was revived for the West End in 2007 with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe’s lead attracting media attention for his first stage role and a headline-grabbing flash of nudity.

Now, Peter Shaffer’s unique play gallops into Oldham with this touring production from the reliable London Classic Theatre company.

Based on a true story, it centres on the grim crime of 17-year-old Alan Strang who blinds six horses with a metal spike and is therefore, not unreasonably, sent to a secure psychiatric hospital.

The crux is why and child psychiatrist Martin Dysart is tasked with digging deep to discover the demons that drove Strang, who journeys from silent and uncooperative to reliving the events of that terrible night as the truth begins to emerge.

While the psycho-analysis might not be to everyone’s taste, there’s no doubting the play is a magnificent piece of theatre; unsettling, dynamic and creative.

It recreates elements from the award-winning original production, such as the wire mask clad actors as horses and the cast sitting around the stage, like the audience, in judgement of the action.

Kerry Bradley’s design is simple but effective; the horse heads are beautifully sculptured and the set shifts with changes of scene, while an overlooking window containing a cross surrounded by hay echoes the theme of religion and horses.

Matthew Pattimore is mesmerising as Strang; from the sullen silence to arrogance then fury of an awkward, disturbed teenager. Malcolm James is equally compelling as Dysart and shifts too; from a calm, controlled figure to questioning his own existence and beliefs. Aidan Downing and Jamie Matthewman also create a graceful, balletic, equine presence that convince as the horses.

It remains a thought-provoking study of spirituality and what can drive people to desperate acts."

JILL LAWRIE - REMOTE GOAT ****

"Artistic Director and founder of London Classic Theatre, Michael Cabot, has waited a decade for the opportunity to direct Peter Shaffer's shocking yet theatrically gripping Equus. LCT are known for their original exciting and innovative productions and this stark passionate dramatisation is no exception. Horses have long been associated with sexuality, brutality, myth and worship and Shaffer's play was inspired by a true story.

The play takes place firstly in a secure psychiatric hospital and secondly in stables at a riding school in Southern England. 17-year-old Alan Strang has outraged society by committing a sickening and ferocious act of mutilation, blinding six riding school horses with a metal spike. Middle-aged psychiatrist Martin Dysart is assigned the task of releasing the demons that beset the youth, and as he gains his trust the boy's unhappy childhood and horse worship is revealed and the events that led to the shocking night of violence. Strang's disclosures force Dysart to examine his own failing marriage and lost ambitions leading to jealousy of the youngsters intense passion.

The visual imagery of Kerry Bradley's creative set is stunning. Six striking and majestic heads held high and ingeniously lit, are reminiscent of Nick Fiddian Green's impressive equine sculptures.

Matthew Pattimore heads this strong cast and gives a superbly assured performance as the troubled Strang. His sullen silence responding only with TV jingles coupled with a disconcerting glare give way to unbridled passion as he relives the fateful night of disastrous sexual impotence and grotesque mutilation. Malcolm James takes on the challenging role of Martin Dysart, the overworked psychiatrist with an intriguing mix of patience as he attempts to uncover the motive for the ferocious act of insanity and vulnerability as he questions his own failure and envies the powerful adoration his young patient commands. Anna Kirke plays the religiously fanatical mother and Aidan Downing (Nugget) is remarkable assuming lifelike characteristics as the revered Equus. Mention too for the charismatic and sensual Helen Phillips (Jill Mason).

Equus has a tendency to romanticise pain and pour scorn on normal values but this masterly production creates a theatrical spectacle and tours the UK until the end of November."

SIMON DUKE - BERWICK ADVERTISER

"Those who took their seats for the opening night of Equus last week most probably will have, like myself, been familiar with the show thanks to images of a naked Daniel Radcliffe being broadcast the world over when he took the lead role, or have studied the book at some point.

Either way, audience reactions at both the interval and the end suggested that the London Classic Theatre treatment of the Peter Schaffer play was a tremendous success.

In the role of troubled teen, Alan Strang, Matthew Pattimore was both cocky and vulnerable in the required quantities which made his leading man one we were astonished by but also had great sympathy for.

The man tasked with making some sense of Alan’s decision to blind six horses with a metal spike was psychiatrist Martin Dysart and like Matthew, Malcolm James, peeled away all of the different layers of his character.

On the face of it Doctor Dysart was an assured and confident man but as the plot unfolded we saw him share his woes about his failed marriage and his repressed desires to his confidante, Hesther Salomon, played by Carole Dance.

The duo worked well together and had great chemistry, leaving us to ponder if there was some romantic tension between their characters.

Another duo who made an impression were Alan’s parents Frank and Dora played by Steven Dineen and Anna Kirke. The different shades to their alter-egos’ personalities were revealed as the play went on and like their son, they too had some troublesome underlying issues.

It would be criminal to ignore the simple yet mightily effective scenery that London Classic Theatre presented Equus with. The brilliance of the staging and costumes combined with the undeniable talent of the ensemble and director Michael Cabot, combined to make this a compelling and thought provoking piece of theatre."

BARBARA MASON - NE4ME

"When I first saw this play at The Sunderland Empire in 1976 it was notorious because of the full frontal nudity that caused some audience members to walk out in disgust. In Durham in 2011 the nudity is of no consequence other than as an essential part of Peter Shaffer’s classic play. That is not least because this touring production by London Classic Theatre, directed by Michael Cabot, is riveting.

The only disappointing moment is when there is a break after 80 minutes. By this stage you are gripped and want to know what happens next despite the obvious attractions of an interval Magnum.

Alan Strang has blinded six horses. The play deals with this horror and explores why a person might commit such a deeply awful act. Psychiatrist Martin Dysart gradually unravels the explanation in this complex psychological thriller that makes you understand that behind every appalling story you might hear on the news there may well be a reason - however unpleasant - for what has happened.

The interaction between Malcolm James as Dysart and Strang, played by Matthew Pattimore, was so intense that each audience member felt as if they were a secretary sitting quietly in the corner of Kerry Bradley’s impressive set which echoed Dysart’s passion for Ancient Greece.

A three-night run in Durham was the start of a national tour that runs until late November and calls in at the Queen’s Hall in Hexham on 17 September. While nudity upset the straighter-laced members of the Wearside public in the mid-seventies, the upsetting aspect of this performance is that, despite top priced tickets being a very reasonable £13, the modern, comfortable venue of the Gala Theatre was only half full. Both the place and the play deserved better."

LU GREER - THE PUBLIC REVIEWS

"Equus, Peter Shaffer’s story of a psychologist’s investigation into why a young boy blinds six horses, has recently come back into the public eye due to its London run with Daniel Radcliff staring as the boy, Alan Strang. London Classic Theatre’s current touring version then has some rather large shoes to fill, and it doesn’t disappoint.

Matthew Pattimore, as Alan, is captivating as he portrays every aspect of the character with a natural ease – from staring blankly at Doctor Dysart (Malcolm James) whilst singing the Milky Bar Kid song, to finally collapsing and crying under the weight of what he has done.

Martin Dysart, a crucial role, acting as an almost narrator in drawing together all of the characters, could fall flat acting across from a performance as powerful as that from Matthew Pattimore, but Malcolm James fills the role beautifully, making the audience feel Dysart’s pain as he reflects upon his own miserable, almost a-sexual existence, and his shock as he realises that he is envious of Alan’s disturbing feelings towards the horses that he adores.

The most exciting thing in this show however, is the impressive, and indeed rather clever, set design by Kerry Bradley. Firstly, watching over the entire stage is a window, clearly inspired by the round rose windows found in churches, with a cross through the centre and hay around the edge, very subtly shows the main premise of the entire show - Alan’s disturbing relationship between religion and horses.

The show is enclosed in a half circle of benches, reminiscent of those in the Grecian world which Dysart makes frequent references to, and the of the strong cast act as onlookers when not in the centre of the circle forming the story. These onlookers are also joined by the six blinded horses, which are in reality just masks on poles, but after just a few minutes of the performance, thanks to some very clever lighting tricks from Paul Green, become judgemental onlookers. These horses are also used as the masks of the men portraying the horses (Aidan Downing and Jamie Matthewman) and still don’t lose their effect, with some beautiful touches from these men, particularly Aidan Downing, whom holds perfect lines with his legs, which really do transform him into the horse.

Even the occasional fluffed line doesn’t detract at all from this performance, and from just a few moments into this performance the audience feels themselves drawn into the semi-circle, sharing every feeling along with the cast.

The story of Equus is so compelling, not just because of the near-faultless cast, and inspiring set, but because of what it is they’re portraying - as Equus does what very few other plays can - it doesn’t ask how Alan blinds his beloved horses, but instead takes us on a sometimes amusing, often harrowing, and more than anything moving, journey of why."

LEE STEVENS - LATEST 7 *****

"There’s an unfair preconception surrounding this play, 'the nudity is gratuitous' they say 'the subject matter is unrealistic' they cry. Neither is true. Peter Shaffer’s play, based on real events, is in effect a detailed look of how a young man can ultimately perpetrate an unspeakable crime. The child, and eventually the young man, was clearly troubled. You could argue (rightly in my opinion) that his parents’ indifferent views (one almost Marxist, the other overtly religious) nurtured a need to hero-worship. Society is used to hero-worshipping celebrities; no-one would blink an eye if he went around in an Elvis jumpsuit. The problem stems from his infatuation with horses, a passion that overspills into an unhealthy relationship with his charges with slight overtones of sado-masochism. This is ultimately a love story; the nudity is justified and apt, dealt with intelligent lighting and staging which gave it an air of intensity and passion. And passion is a strong theme. A large part of the story focuses on the psychiatrist’s conflict between ‘healing’ the young man’s crime of passion that was at least acted upon and the psychiatrist’s own passions that remain incomplete, culturally and matrimonially.

London Classic Theatre produced a stunning piece of work. The set design is almost gladiatorial, the scene battles played in a ring of seating surrounded by the unused cast watching as both audience and actor. The material is dark but thought-provoking and performed delicately, with precision and with utmost sensitivity. A triumph."

DAVID PORTER - EASTERN DAILY PRESS

"As much psychological study as play, Equus is a powerful, yet sensitive insight into a repressed and awkward teenager, facing his development and relationships, hiding in a world of TV commercials.

Locked in a tight, semi-circle of light and minimal blocks, contrasting with the dark openness of the Playhouse stage, psychiatrist (Malcolm James) narrated the case: why a 17 year old youth blinded six horses.

Conflict and tension came from the doctor teasing information from each character, asking, provoking. ‘When you’re in the adjustment business, you’re never short of customers’.

All-seeing eyes and the mother’s (Anna Kirke) Biblical equine images affected everyone. Symbolic horse heads hung in the shadows. Scenes flowed from psychiatrist’s study to stable to the boy’s home. His parents emerged with little glory.

Believing he‘d been given a truth drug, the boy (Matthew Pattimore), retold the attempted lovemaking with the girl (Helen Phillips) and why he blinded the horses. Their nudity reinforced the boy’s vulnerability.

London Classic Theatre brought this horrific, compelling and thought-provoking work to a packed house including many informed and appreciative students, which speaks well for the future of serious drama in the region.

LAURA FRAINE - THE STAGE

"The silence in the auditorium following Act One’s dramatic climax is broken by one audience member - “Wow… wow…”. Michael Cabot’s Equus is a production that takes you with it.

From a horrific premise - a 17-year-old boy is in a psychiatric unit after blinding horses with a metal spike - Peter Shaffer’s 1973 play seeks the answers behind such seemingly senseless behaviour. Judgement and disgust are left at the door. Matthew Pattimore’s Alan Strang is taut, flawless and so compelling as to make his sexual attraction to horses a truly erotic experience. Malcolm James takes the role of his psychiatrist and our interpreter, Martin Dysart, a doctor quietly losing faith in his own treatment. Dysart gets the best lines in this piece, contrasting his patient’s extreme blend of passionate worship with his own sterile and cowed existence, and James easily makes the production half his own. Is a life eradicated of fervour worth living? This is the play’s ultimate question, although considering the alternative - a violently disturbed child and his helpless victims - I couldn’t quite make the leap.

Some characters are less fully drawn. Frank (Steve Dineen) and Dora Strang (Anna Kirke), Alan’s parents, are both powerful in their own right, but so diametrically opposed it is hard to imagine how they ever made a couple at all. Hesther Salomon, efficiently played by Carole Dance, seems to be yearning for a greater depth to her written character.

But the horses are fantastic. The wire masks designed by Kerry Bradley seem to take on a life of their own. In particular, Aidan Downing cuts a balletic, poetic figure as Nugget, the lead horse."