Daniel Radcliffe And Richard Griffiths Star In Broadway’s Revival Of Equus
August 4, 2008 by Alicia Sparks, Mental Health Notes
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Tickets to the Broadway revival of Equus at Broadhurst Theatre in New York go on sale today at 10 a.m. Equus will run from September 5, 2008 until February 8, 2009.
Peter Shaffer wrote the play Equus in 1973 after hearing about a real-life case in which a 17-year-old boy blinded six horses in town near London. Shaffer didn’t know any details about the crime, but Equus is a fictional account of what could have caused the crime.
In other words: Equus isn’t what happened; it’s a play based on Shaffer’s imagination of what could have happened. It’s a story.
In Equus, a psychiatrist (Martin Dysart) tries to treat a disturbed 17-year-old (Alan Strang) who has a “pathological religious/sexual fascination with horses.” To my understanding, Dysart winds up feeling less-than-good about his sessions with Strang, and even ends up questioning himself, his profession, and his life throughout the play.
While I’m always interested in psychiatry-related things here at Mental Health Notes, additional interest comes in the form of Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths who are once again portraying Equus characters Alan Strang and Martin Dysart, respectively. (They portrayed both of these characters in last year’s Equus performances at London’s Gielgud Theatre, too.)
This is additional interest, because Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths both portray Harry Potter and his uncle, Vernon Dursley, respectively, in all of the Harry Potter film adaptations.
And I’m a Harry Potter junkie.
I wonder if Griffiths as a psychiatrist will employ the ol’ cupboard under the stairs method of keeping Radcliffe as a troubled teen away from the horses, hmm?
As you can tell, I’ve never seen Equus. But, if you’ve seen it, or plan to see it, share your thoughts in the comments below!
Image: Amazon
The play got pretty good reviews here in the UK. But most press attention seemed to focus on the fact that Radcliffe appears naked at one point in the performance
@ Mad World – Your blog name always puts that song, “Mad World,” in my head, haha.
Oh, yes, I remember all the talk/anticipation about Daniel’s nude scene, ha. Aside from living quite a ways away from New York, this is one reason I don’t really have a desire to see the play. I love Daniel Radcliffe (and would love to see both him and Richard Griffiths on stage together), but I love him as Harry Potter. Even though I know he’s an actor and has to broaden his scope if he’s ever supposed to have a career after Harry Potter, but, to me, he’ll always be Harry. And I think seeing him nude would ruin that for me, haha.