EQUUS

English Play

Equus, Latin for ‘horse’, is a psychological drama that delves deep into the mind’s primal corners. Written in 1973, this English ‘whydunnit’, inspired by a real-life incident, unravels the mystery behind a shocking act of violence—17-year-old Alan Strang blinds four horses with a metal spike in a single night.

The story follows Martin Dysart, a child psychiatrist, who begins treating Alan only to find himself grappling with his own inner turmoil. As the investigation unravels, Dysart brings to light Alan’s religious, emotional and sexual obsession with horses, leading him to confront unsettling truths about the nature of normalcy, worship and desire. Consumed by envy of Alan’s raw, unfiltered passion, the psychiatrist is forced to confront the suffocating monotony of his own life. The play reimagines this classic through psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Jung’s lens of the ‘Shadow Self’, making use of the evocative power of shadow theatre to throw light on the darkness that remains hidden. Alan’s intense passion and obsession with horses becomes a powerful metaphor for humanity’s most profound extremes—what we suppress, what we idolise and what ultimately defines our very existence.

Directed by Sukrit Mahajan
Written by Peter Shaffer
A Playhouse Production

Box Office 9th July for Members and 12th July for Public.