Equus at Menier Chocolate Factory Review
Photo: Manuel Harlan
Written by Cathie for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All views are our own
A boy and his horse are a tale as old as time, or is it? Equus, the intense psychological thriller has been revived at the Menier factory this spring. With a goliath reputation from previous productions in Broadway and the West End, Director Lindsey Posner seeks to boldly reimagine this story of broken souls.
Loosely based on a real event, Equus follows the story of Alan Strang (Noah Valentine), a disturbed and eccentric teen, who blinds six horses from his local stable. We find him once he begins his time in psychiatric hospital, under the care of Dr Martin Dysart (Toby Stephens), a burnt out but still compassionate Doctor. The cast are pure magic on stage with fantastic. Valentine perfectly showcased the eerie childlike innocence and intense slavish devotion of Alan to his equine God. He is truly phenomenal in this role and brings much sympathy and revulsion to this lonely and broken teenager in a remarkably nuanced form. His dynamic with Toby Stephens is the centre upon this story spins and both have truly mind-blowing tender and frazzled chemistry throughout which is utterly disturbing yet captivating. Stephens is magnetic to watch as the frazzled and regretful psychiatrist who is devoted to helping Strang even as it triggers his own mental fragility with questions of worship, passion and loyalty to ideals. Colin Mace and Emma Cunniffe are fantastic as Strang’s puritanical atheist father and fearful religious mother. Bella Aubin is sweet, feisty and innocent as Jill, Alan’s prospective love. Paula James as Nurse and David Rubin as stable owner Dalton are wonderful supportive cast. The six silent horses with Ed Mitchell as lead horse and Nugget were powerful, primal and impressive in their performance.
The pace was immaculate, perfectly winding the tension so that the audience was utterly entranced throughout. The dizzying fall into Alan’s mindset and the crisis of faith it triggers in his psychiatrist was perfectly balanced, evoking both sympathy and horror for this struggling teenager who committed such an atrocious act. Its themes of the fragility of young minds, the danger of loneliness and the importance of recognising and supporting men’s mental health is full of nuance, pathos and aching vulnerability. Every character struggles in this play but the balance between duty and devastation, loyalty and love and curiosity versus obsession is stunningly explored in depth throughout.
Paul Farnsworth’s set is brutal and stark, firmly setting the production in 1973 and acts as a brilliant focus to the incredible acting on stage. Farnsworth costuming is precise, carefully evoking the fragile instability of the Strange family and highlighting the sheer physical strength and power of the “horse” swing. Paul Pyant’s lighting direction and Adam Cork’s sound design work perfectly together to further immerse and captivate the audience into following Dysart’s journey within the tunnel of Alan’s twisted equine desire. James Cousin’s movement direction was utterly captivating and beautifully showcased the Alan’s desires, torments and brought the swing alive in a powerfully feral and untamed form.
This is a incredible retelling of Equus with as much bite as the original film and script but phenomenally rendered for modern audiences in a way, only matched by writer Peter Shaffer’s imagination. This play at nearly fifty years old is still as astoundingly resonant as it was in its inception. Its rallying cry is thought provoking, challenging and remains as powerful as its initial run in the Old Vic. This is a truly once in a lifetime revival of Equus. Book tickets while you can.
Equus plays at Menier Chocolate Factory until 4th July.
★★★★
