Here’s my first Review of a script that I just finished reading. This is actually my FIRST review I’ve written about anything. But the more I do, hopefully I’ll learn from the devices the playwright uses and adapt them into my writing.
The play is called EQUUS by Peter Shaffer. It was first produced at the National Theater in July of 1973. I think I messed up when I bought this version of the play from Borders. It wasn’t until Act I Scene 5 when I realized the stage directions used in this production was used in the book. But when I was looking for an image to use for this blog, I saw a whole bunch of pictures that pretty much looked like they were from the descriptions in the play I read. That didn’t make any sense…
MY SYNOPSIS
In my first reading, meaning that I really need to read it again, I was really taken in by how the play began: a monologue by the Narrator, Dr. Martin Dysart. There’s an image of Alan Strang, the main character, as he is with a horse. Dysart reveals that Alan had just blinded six horses in a stable where he worked. Alan was sent to Dr. Dysart instead of prison because the judge felt that he is a little too looney for life behind the bars. So the play is about this Doctor deciding whether or not this kid is crazy or putting on an act to stay out of jail. When we first meet Alan, all he does is sing jingles from the tele (the play takes place in England). The play reads like a courtroom drama because the Dr. asks him questions about why he did this? The themes of religion and parent-child relationships hold strong with this play. We are introduced to both his parents and we see how they affect his outlook on life. Each parent is different: Mother, very religious; Father, not. We slowly get to see how screwed up this kid really is because he thinks that the horses are talking to him, and actually he thinks that they are Gods. When he is with a girl, Jill, in the stables “doing the do” he feels the horses are mocking him. This drives him crazy to do what he is accused of doing. Of course, there’s more to this script, but you’ll have to either read it or find a summary of it.
WHAT I’LL STEAL LEARN TO USE
– The play is about how the Dr. explores Alan’s family and his past. One way this is done was having a character remember sitting in front of the television and from behind the actors playing the parents start to explain their case why television is bad.
– The set is minimal. The human actors are seated around the set and when they are needed they step into/around a light to designate a location.