SnitchSeeker.com - ‘Equus’ review by SS's own Emma and Kayleigh

Two SnitchSeeker members, Emma and Kayleigh, ezzer123 and kazzer123 respectively, had the opportunity to see a preview of Equus and are sharing their exclusive review of the play with us.

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Equus ticket

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It was Saturday. Saturday 17th February 2007. The day Emma and I, Kayleigh, had booked tickets to see Equus. Yes, Equus. It had been planned for months. We both live about 50 minutes from London, so arranged to take the train down there and make quite a day of it doing the usual necessities before the performance. This being sightseeing and the one thing that girls do best, shopping.

So after about three hours of walking what seemed hundreds of miles, eating salads in Covent Garden and arguing over who was going to buy a sparkly handbag in Accessorize, we finally made it to Shaftesbury Avenue, our favourite street in London, showing the best British musicals and dramas known to man. Heaven. We were slightly early and so sat down in an extremely busy Starbucks opposite the theatre. Emma and I, at this point, were starting to feel nervous and apprehensive, for the reason that we were just about to watch Daniel Radcliffe, the actor that had played a timid Harry Potter for years, stand in front of a large audience and portray Alan Strang, a diverse character with a completely different personality.

It was approaching 2 p.m., so we excitedly made our way to the theatre, only stopping on our way to take some pictures. After buying programmes and waiting for what seemed ages we were allowed into the theatre …

The interior was gorgeous, a dazzling chandelier hung high over our heads and the expensive décor amazed us all. Upon checking our tickets we realised that our seats, Stalls Row C, were probably the best in the theatre. We were on the second row from the front, with an amazing view of the stage.

At half past two the play began. The stage started in darkness but then after awhile Will Kemp came on to the stage, positioned himself in the centre and put a horse shaped mask on to his face that, due to its silver colour, dazzled in the light. Then, Dan walked on stage dressed in nothing but a pair of jeans and hugged the horse. For the next few minutes Richard Griffiths spoke, referring to the boy and horse on the stage. The play then continued by showing what had happened in Richard Griffiths’, a psychiatrist known as Martin Dysart, life before he finally understood the truth about how Alan Strang had blinded six horses.

Throughout Act One the story establishes the relationship between Alan and Martin by telling each other “secrets” in counselling sessions. More characters are introduced, Alan’s parents, a nurse and a female council representative called Hesther, played by Jenny Agutter. We see flashbacks to Alan’s youth, where the audience is able to understand how his obsession with horses began. During one particular counselling session we saw Alan smoking. Please do not automatically judge Dan upon this as he is just be smoking for theatrical purposes, and the cigarettes could have had a herbal substitute in them. Anyway, as the plot develops we see Alan get a job at a stables, where he meets Jill, a girl who works at the stables with him. The first act finishes with quite a scene in which Alan performs a ritual on a horse, in which the audience was disturbed by its nature.

During the interval we were amazed; Dan’s and Richard Griffith’s performances were brilliant. However, the break was short and Act Two began. The counselling sessions carry on, and as they do the audience develops a deeper understanding of Alan’s and Martin’s lives. Alan and Jill also establish an extremely friendly relationship which starts with a trip to an adult cinema, in which there are many hilarious jokes due to Alan’s dad turning up at the cinema, causing embarrassment for both. Next we see Alan and Jill deciding to take their relationship to another level, where both of them perform a graphic scene in which they are entirely naked.

Due to Alan’s obsession with horses he is unable to go through with it and angrily demands Jill to leave him alone. Alan is then abused by six horses; something which I assumed represented his shame. Then, in a sinister attack Alan blinds the horses with a hoof pick whilst naked. This truly shocking scene was terrifying due to lighting, sound and the brilliant acting on stage. The play then plunged into a catharsis where Martin comforts Alan and ensures him he will become better. However, with the use of Richard Griffiths’ amazing acting skills, the audience is left feeling sorry for both Alan and also Martin, thanks to an astounding ending where Martin stands on stage lit by only a lighter in his hand and talks of his troubles, leaving the audience astonished and hugely impressed when the lights went out.

Emma and I were immensely impressed by what we had seen and so, when the cast took their final bows, clapped with sheer enthusiasm. However, when Dan and Richard came on stage all the audience and ourselves could do was get on our feet and give the cast a well deserved standing ovation. At this point Dan was extremely shy and overwhelmed with gratitude.

So to conclude, Equus was fantastically written and directed, the set design, lighting and sound was perfect and the acting was truly fabulous. Richard Griffiths’ stage presence was unforgettable and unbelievably natural, proving all his years of experience really have paid off. Dan really impressed both of us by his wonderful performance and amazed us at how well he adapted to another role on stage. Equus was a dazzling play that has proven to us all that Dan has the ability to go on to be an amazing adaptable actor.

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Play banner on Gielgud Theatre

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Door poster with credits