Type – Erotic, Queer, Psychological Drama
If you liked – Gravy (KXT), Circle Mirror Transformation (STC)
Equus: Brockman emerges as a director with a sharp vision; this is confronting, beautiful, and provoking theatre at its best.
Peter Shaffer‘s 1973 psychological drama Equus has for many years been carried by its iconic image of a young, naked man and a horse. Perhaps most famously in the 2007 revival thanks to Daniel Radcliffe who was at the time in the peak of Harry Potter fame – audiences flocked to see his “magic wand”. Perhaps the show’s director, Thea Sharrock, knew exactly what she was doing when casting Radcliffe in the role of Alan Strang. Equus, at its core, is about desire and worship. Who better to show proof in the flesh than the world’s most famous boy wizard?
Brockman‘s Equus carries this theme of desire and sexualised worship into what they describe as both a personal and political use of theatre. Who gets to be desired? Who gets to be worshipped? Who gets to be naked? And yes, there is intimate, full frontal nudity in this production.
After seventeen year old Alan (Ryan Yeats) blinds six horses, he’s handed over to child psychologist Martin Dysart (J. James Moody) to find out his motive. But as Dysart digs deeper into Alan’s world, he uncovers a religious sexualisation, an obsession and objectification centred around the horses on which his violence was enacted. The pair’s journey eventually places Dysart to not only shift his views on his practice, but his own structured life.
The directorial vision on display here from Brockman is exquisite. There is a sharp clarity in the undertones they want to stage, and how they adapt Shaffer’s themes. Instead of the usual body that is often used for the horses in productions of Equus, Brockman places a “different body there. A fat, queer body.”
Shalamah Tautaiolefue‘s is the body out of which Yeats’ Alan builds his religion. The dream sequences and journeys through memory eventually blur the lines between worship, desire, and objectification. Where other productions have focused on the violence that Alan carries out on the horses in his “temple”, Brockman is more concerned about the body which Alan worships. Hayden Tonazzi‘s Intimacy Coordination and Jeremy Lloyd‘s Movement Direction blends together to astounding effect. The partner work between Yeats and Tautaiolefue is erotic, vulnerable, frightening and beautiful.
Equus‘ set and lighting – also carefully constructed by Brockman – is part of the captivating appeal of the production. Light is used to expand and condense the space, a single bulb which rises and lowers in the centre of KXT’s traverse stage is used to full effect. It changes hues, swings back and forth, and at times becomes the only source of light between Alan and Dysart. Surrounding the stage are square structures of bulbs, creating blinding effects drenched in red, and offering suggestions of space with subtle clarity. Brockman ensures we’re never lost in space or time, nor overwhelmed by the play’s more confronting moments.
James Moody’s Dysart is as captivating of a performance here as Yeats and Tautaiolefue’s. His journey from self-assured, disassociated psychologist to an inward reflection and queer reckoning is sublime. There’s a believability in his line delivery, a truthfulness as though each line is coming to him as Dysart says it. It’s this imbued realism that creates a cohesiveness within the story.
Is Equus Worth Seeing in Sydney?
Brockman’s vision for Equus is an exquisite case study in how to imbue a personal and political lens onto the revival of a richly layered text. It allows you to be confronted, and yet still see the questions which it raises. Questions of religion, of identity, of life in a bigger body and the sexual desire, objectification and lived experience that comes with it.
See it for its stunning vision. Be prepared for a night at the theatre that demands your attention. It’s not an easy watch, but that’s often the best kind of theatre. Gallop, don’t trot, to see it.
Tickets and Practical Info for Equus in Sydney 🎟️
Director BROCKMAN
with Ryan Yeates, Jay-James Moody, Sophie Gregg, Stephen Madsen, Shalamah Tautaiolefue, Linda Nicholls-Gidley, Cloud Fernandez-Montoya, Gus Murray
Content Information
This production includes full nudity, sexual violence, animal abuse
Recommended for audiences 18+
Approx run time: 135 mins
this show has an interval
Set & Lighting Design BROCKMAN; Costume Design Dr Emily Brayshaw; Composition & Sound Design Miles Mclaughlin; Movement Jeremy Lloyd; Intimacy Director Hayden Tonazzi; Photographer Robert Catto Producer & Casting Director Daniel Cottier
Presented by Daniel Cottier Productions
