Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, Mockingbird Theatre Company present English playwright Peter Shaffer’s deeply disturbing yet richly provocative work, Equus.
An explosive play that took critics and audiences by storm and became a world-wide sensation upon its release, Equus is Peter Shaffer’s exploration of the way modern society has destroyed our ability to feel passion.
Alan Strang is a disturbed youth whose dangerous obsession with horses leads him to commit an unspeakable act of violence. As psychiatrist Martin Dysart struggles to understand the motivation for Alan’s brutality, he is increasingly drawn into Alan’s web and eventually forced to question his own sanity and purpose.
Equus is a timeless classic and a cornerstone of contemporary drama that delves into the darkest recesses of human existence.
“It’s a fascinating study into the human psyche” says Director and Company Artistic Director Chris Baldock.
“Shaffer creates a fictional account of what might have caused the incident without knowing any of the details of the crime and thus the play becomes something of a detective story. The child psychiatrist, Dr Martin Dysart, must uncover the cause of the boy’s actions but doing so causes him to question his own sense of purpose.”
“Both individuals must grapple with their own demons as they struggle to make sense of lives and behaviours that no longer fit inside the traditional or accepted. It’s a provocative psychological drama that will engage the audience from beginning to end.”
Sir Peter Shaffer is an English playwright of many award winning plays. His first work, The Salt Land, was presented on the BBC in 1954. He quickly followed this with a double bill, The Private Ear/The Public Eye, which played at The Globe Theatre in 1962.
The National Theatre was established in 1963 and from that time on most of Shaffer’s subsequent works would be performed there. Following the critical success of Equus, Shaffer wrote Amadeus which won the Evening Standard Drama Award and the Theatre Critics Award.
As a screenwriter, Shaffer has adapted many for his works for the screen. He received two Academy Award–nominations for adapting his plays Equus and Amadeus for the big screen.
Director: Chris Baldock Cast: Jeremy Kewley, Scott Middleton, Maggie Chretien, Soren Jensen, Amanda McKay, Sally Tatterdson, Elijah Egan, Damien Harrison, Tom Kay, Tilly Legge, Lauren O’Callaghan, Dylan Watson
EQUUS
Brunswick Mechanics Institute Performing Arts Centre
Cnr Glenlyon and Sydney Roads, Brunswick
Season: 3 – 17 August 2013
Bookings: www.mockingbirdtheatre.com.au
For more information, visit: www.mockingbirdtheatre.com.au for details.