Review: Equus, Menier Chocolate Factory

The Menier Chocolate Factory’s revival of Equus arrives almost exactly 100 years after Peter Shaffer‘s birth. 17-year-old Alan Strang (Noah Valentine) has been placed in the care of Dr Dysart (Toby Stephens) after blinding six horses in the stables he works in. As Dysart tries to understand what drove the young man to such extremes, Equus unfolds as a story of desire, repression and destruction. 

Valentine’s Strang is wound tight, like a coiled spring. He carries absolute tension throughout only briefly comforted by the horses, their presence and physical touch. Like a spring, he can snap, brittle control but then explosive energy. He is constantly teetering on the edge, unable to find a way through in the world. He is both a lost boy and a man capable of such extreme cruelty. His devotion to the horses feels obsessive – almost sacred – and so deeply personal. This should be a breakthrough performance – Valentine holds you throughout. 

Stephens’ Dysart is a striking contrast, appearing controlled and constrained but then increasingly drawn to Strang, wanting to alleviate his pain and slowly showing how much Dysart is unravelling himself. Stephens absolutely nails the emotional pivot when he contrasts his own life with Strang’s. His dream of ritual sacrifice is visceral and frames Equus central question: what is a life worth without passion? You can feel the envy he has for Strang’s passion and the deep gulf that Dysart reflects on in his own life while at the same time feeling the unease that this doctor has at having such thoughts. It’s a masterclass in conflict from Stephens.  

Director Lindsay Posner plays this with minimal staging, just four benches around the stage and chairs at the back for the six horses. There are no props or prosthetics; instead, the six horses are created with physical movement and suggestion. The six horsemen (Luke Hodkinson, Aristide Lyons, Zach Parkin, Tommi Sutton, Moses Ward and ​​Ed Mitchell as Nugget and the lead horseman) use tight controlled gestures to show horses’ gait, stamping and even stance – it’s spectacularly effective. The cast, alongside movement director James Cousins, have excelled here.  

Similarly, costume designer Paul Farnsworth has a less traditional approach, the horses are all bare chested, streaked with dark paint. The lighting (Paul Pyant) easily highlights the muscles and sweat, as the horses gather and movement and body blur together. It also heightens the undercurrent of homoeroticism, Strang’s attraction to the horses, his closeness and physical touch – there is an unmistakable sensual charge tying into the young man’s sexual awakening. The lines blur, the cast move and perform as horses but at all times are lithe, muscular men almost constantly on stage, their presence impossible to ignore in the same way they were impossible for Strang to ignore. 

All of this plays out in the intimacy of the Menier. With this staging I doubt there is a bad view from any seat in the house. While Equus runs long and the Menier’s benches are never the most comfortable, the size and the staging with seats on three sides brings you close, draws you into the darkness and holds you there. 

One of the reasons Equus is such a classic is that it stays with you after, it does not provide easy answers. Posner’s production leans into this, with the physical movement interpretation for the horses adding another layer of meaning and unease. It adds a bold visual twist to a familiar masterpiece.  

Written by Peter Shaffer
Directed by Lindsay Posner
Set & Costume Design by Paul Farnsworth
Lighting Design by Paul Pyant
Composer & Sound Design by Adam Cork
Movement Director: James Cousins
Intimacy Coordinator: Clare Foster
Hair & Makeup Consultant: Betty Marini
Associate Director: Amy Reade

Presented in a co-production with Theatre Royal Bath

Equus plays at Menier Chocolate Factory until Saturday 4 July.