Show: Equus
Society: Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Venue: C
Credits: Peter Shaffer / Rep Theatre Company
Type: Sardines
Author: Chris Abbott
Performance Date: 21/08/2016
Equus
Chris Abbott | 21 Aug 2016 19:06pm
There are productions of Equus on the Fringe most years, and this version by the Rep Theatre Company was first seen here in 2015. It’s a play that speaks to young people despite much of the detail it contains now seeming very dated, and the essence of the play is the central conflict between the psychiatrist Dysart and Alan Strang, the boy entrusted to his care.
Professional productions have seen many old/young pairings take on the role, with varying degrees of success. It is an indication of the quality of acting on this occasion that, even though Dysart and Strang looked the same age in this young cast, the power of the relationship between them gradually assumed its form.
As Dysart, Harry Mead was a quietly confident presence, comfortable in the role and at at his best in his final despairing moments when he realises what he has done in destroying in Alan the passion he envies. Opposite him, Tristan Howle was entirely believable in his confusion, coping well even with some of the early dialogue about tv adverts which never rang true even when the play first appeared. As the play progresses, Howle inhabits the role fully and copes as well as anyone could with some of the constraints in this particular production: this is a performance of great maturity and control. The other parts were all confidently played (and all managed to project past the noisy air conditioning) with Jamie Clarke particularly impressive as the conflicted and confused father.
The production, directed by Guy Levesley, did not, as is more usual, attempt a version of the original. There were no visible horses, no nudity (entirely understandable with such a young cast) and almost no sound of the horses. The latter was particularly problematic; it is perfectly acceptable to mime the presence of horses but the sounds of them moving around and stamping their feet are very important to this play; providing this by tapping on benches and stamping on the floor does not really give sufficient context for the action.
The miming of the removal of clothes was well done; but why then was it felt necessary for one actual layer of clothing to be removed at a later stage? The costumes seemed to suggest a present day setting and yet the period details of the 1970s were still in the script.
The production was premiered at Repton School, where I am guessing there must be a more steeply ramped auditorium and a lower stage. At C +1 the seating rises only slightly and the placing of seated characters stage left meant that large parts of the stage were not visible to some in the audience. This could perhaps be indicated by marking the relevant seats as restricted view. Despite these reservations about the production itself, there was some fine acting to be seen here and the company deserves to be well supported during their time in Edinburgh.
- : admin
- : 21/08/2016