DIRECTED BY : Bruce Coleman

CAST :

RICK ESPAILLAT AS DR. MARTIN DYSART
MAX SWARNER AS ALAN STRANG
CAROLYN WICKWIRE AS HESTER
LEE JAMISON WADLEY AS JILL MASON
DAN MORROW AS FRANK STRANG
MARY-MARGARET PYEATT AS DORA STRANG
DAYLON WALTON AS NUGGET

*REVIEWED 02/26/09 PERFORMANCE

Reviewed by Christopher Soden, Associate Theatre Critic for
John Garcia's THE COLUMN

____________________________EQUUS_____________________________

Reviewed by Christopher Soden, Associate Theatre Critic for
John Garcia's THE COLUMN

In the 1970's Peter Shaffer heard about an incident in which a teenaged boy
blinded six horses. Ironically, the young man worked with horses and loved them.
Without knowing anything else, Shaffer set out to explain what might have driven
the young man to such extremes. What he created is a play of such vivid
metaphor, such exhibition and sacrament, that the mind reels. A disillusioned
psychiatrist, a damaged teenager with conflicting devotions, human sacrifice,
naked rides on horseback, burgeoning se*uality, primal worship more consuming
than Christianity usually inspires. Whatever you glean from the script, the
content is profoundly unsettling and, I believe, raises issues of carnality and
how utterly incompatible it can feel with altruism and spirituality. Se*ual
desire has a way of exposing our flaws and contusions and reminding us just how
far we have to go on the road to enlightenment. And as Shaffer points out in
Equus, while we may not fear the monotheistic, Judeo-Christian, God : Aleichem,
neither does he necessarily make us feel empowered or safe.

Like many great works of literature, Equus feels very personal when experienced
as a show, and sparks a lot of messy feelings and conflicts in the audience. In
my opinion, the play has two protagonists, Dr. Dysart, the psychiatrist, and
Alan Strang, the boy he seeks to heal. Dysart feels great affinity for pagan
civilizations and while he doesn't condone blood sacrifice, envies these
cultures the awesome nature of their worship. Whatever their misconceptions,
these believers were better equipped to take on the savagery of the world around
them. Dysart also envies Alan Strang, who has managed to create his own ritual
of ecstasy and triumph. Alan may be severely estranged from the world around
him, but when he sneaks back to the stables at night to ride naked on his horse
god, he self-actualizes in a way unavailable to Dysart.

Perhaps it's because Alan is a male and so is Dr. Dysart. Perhaps it's because
our society often perceives the submissiveness of Christianity as weakness. But
a key idea in Equus is the concept of virility. There are other elements, the
orgiastic timbre of his litany and supplications as he rides ( "I want to be in
you….I want to be you….Make us one….Horse and rider…") that may suggest an
aspect of homoeroticism.

Now, clearly, whether the audience member is male or female, gay or straight, it
may color their perception. But the important thing to bear in mind is that you
can make a legitimate case for this interpretation. Males connecting se*ually is
certainly not the core issue of Equus, or if so, it's one of several. Shaffer
never suggests anything conclusive, other than the profound shame Alan feels for
acting on his amorous impulses. The issue of his orientation is never really
raised.

Uptown Players is currently staging Equus. As some of you may know, an uproar
began a few years ago when Daniel Radcliffe (closely identified with his ongoing
role as Harry Potter) took on the role of Strang, and the nudity called for in
the script. One can hardly blame Radcliffe, who most likely, was trying to show
some range and avoid a lifetime of typecasting in the bargain. Many fans
renounced Radcliffe for making this choice, assuming there must be something
undeniably inappropriate about a play that required him to disrobe.

One need only to read or see Equus to grasp the depth and complexity of the
story, and after all, how can you fight people who rush to judgment without
knowing all the facts?

Controversy seems to follow the show because the crime is so ghastly and the
nudity, while by no means gratuitous, has a very primitive, raucous vibration.
There is an elemental beauty and celebratory aspect when Alan mounts his horse
Nugget, waging war against the vanity and hypocrisy of civilized society. Like
the id battling the Super Ego.

When you enter the Kalita Humphreys Theater, and see the set conceived
as an ancient temple (with a nod to Stonehenge) with pillars and tables and
flames and horse masks hanging from hooks, it's something of a portent.
Originally conceived in 1973 as a bare space, surrounded
by three benches in a semicircle, this incarnation seems the very opposite of
minimalism, though not excessive or turgid.

Director Bruce Coleman has turned the stage into a pagan altar and the
characters, in their contemporary clothing, seem out of place, like interlopers.
Only Alan, disrobed, and the horses and priests seem to belong there. And
Coleman takes it further. Dysart's nightmares, only described in other
productions are acted out here, erasing boundaries between what terrifies us,
what allures us, and what happens in the "actual" world.

Equus treats Alan's crime as a mystery Dysart must solve. When Hester
a concerned magistrate intervenes on Alan's behalf, she subsequently pleads
with Dysart, a friend who is loathe to add another patient to his caseload. He
uses various subterfuges to get around Alan's hostility, gathering clues to the
motivation behind the horrific incident. He gradually gains Alan's trust, while
struggling with his own ambivalence. In the course of their sessions he
discovers the exhilaration of Strang's worship, as well as the abject misery he
suffers elsewhere.

The relationship between Strang (Max Swarner) and Dysart (Rick Espaillat) is
well realized. It's rocky enough to be interesting and warm enough to confirm
their humanity. They are some very sincere, captivating moments when Dysart
ruminates about keen dissatisfaction with himself and the world. Espaillat has
the unenviable task of needing to sound introspective without seeming
self-absorbed, which he carries off beautifully.

Needless to say, the demands of playing Alan Strang, with his rage and
excruciation, his shame and despair, would have been daunting to many actors.
Swarner's managed this role with great acuity and dedication. He finds his
authenticity with courage and the radiance that comes from frank expression.
From finding that spark of yearning we all share and expressing it. Channeling
it.

The rest of the cast is moving and adept. As the magistrate with a sharp eye for
those in need of compassion, Carolyn Wickwire, has great authority and élan. Lee
Jamison Wadley is quite fetching and savvy as Jill, one of Alan's few friends
and confidantes. Mary-Margaret Pyeatt brings a fair amount of sympathy to the
part of Alan's mother, whose religious zeal can sometimes get the better of her.

The gentlemen who play the horses were impressive, moving precisely and
meticulously in a kind of empathic cadence or dance to the other performers :
Chris Edwards (Trooper) Scott Higgins (Prince) William Lanier (Trojan) Alexander
Ross (Champion) Greg Turnipseed (Onyx) and Daylon Walton as the stalwart ("Bear
me away!") Nugget.

Costume Designer Suzi Cranford has created some of the most fanciful togs in
recent memory, chaps with fringes and masks for temple priests; essentially,
striking a balance between the masculine and mythological. Jeffrey Schmidt
designed the horse masks, working with wire, bronze, and leather, giving each a
particular identity. They are both magnificent and haunting.

Nothing I saw in the opening night production felt thematically inconsistent
with the primary text and while the sensual aspect of the play was showy and
salient, is masculine beauty not a viable component of this narrative? If we
were watching Cabaret would we be up in arms over provocative costuming? Libido
informs everyone's life, in one way or another, whether you're Sally Bowles,
Alan Strang or Tom Wingfield. Whatever audacity was in evidence Friday night was
also inherent in Shaffer's drama. Director Bruce Coleman's vision of Equus is a
noticeable departure from it's inception. Nothing wrong in that, it happens all
the time.

Whether or not you believe there's an element of homoeroticism to the text (or
Coleman is adhering to that) the ordeal of Alan Strang justifies the grandiose
treatment the material receives. The majesty of horses, the torment of managing
one's virility, the need for guidance from a supreme deity and to know Him,
connect with Him, the reason for suffering: whatever your orientation, these
concepts are universal, and enormous, and Shaffer makes them immediate, urgent
and implacable. As does Coleman.

Reviewed by Christopher Soden, Associate Theatre Critic for
John Garcia's THE COLUMN

_______________________________________________________________

Uptown Players presents: Equus,
Through March 21st at The Kalita Humphrey's Theater. 214-219-2718. 3636 Turtle
Creek Blvd. Dallas, TX 75219. www.uptownplayers.org