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What is the meaning behind Equus?
noun. Eq·uus ˈek-wəs ˈēk- : a genus of the family Equidae that comprises the horses, asses, zebras, and related recent and extinct mammals.
What do horses symbolize in Equus?
The horse is the primary symbol in Equus, and at a glance, it represents everything we might expect a horse to represent: power, freedom, animal desire. Indeed, Alan Strang's worship of the horse-god Equus emphasizes the pure physicality of the horse.
How many episodes of Equus story of the horse are there?
All 3 episodes aired on CBC/The Nature of Things in Canada. Horse lovers show!
What is the theme of Equus?
Some of the major themes of Equus are modern society, normality and blame. The play is a strong critique on the commercialized and conformist society that we live in and its effect on the individuality of people.
What mental illness does Alan have in Equus?
In Peter Shaffer's play Equus, schizophrenia which is represented through the scenes can be clearly seen. This proves that Alan Strang, the main character of the play, suffers from schizophrenia. His schizophrenia can be seen from its symptoms, delusion and hallucination that he experiences.
What happens at the end of Equus?
By the end of the novel, Dysart has fully adopted Alan's pain as his own, in the way that he has for so many children that came before. He wears the chain in his mouth that Alan loathes, the chain that represents confinement and a loss of freedom.
Is Equus a tragedy?
Many critics have called Equus a “modern tragedy,” some evoking Aristotle's principles of tragedy (as he outlines in his Poetics) to discuss the manner in which the play operates.
Are Equus still alive?
Where & When? Species of Equus lived from 5 million years ago until the present. Living species include horses, asses, and zebras.
What do the eyes represent in Equus?
Peter Shaffer uses eyes and sight in Equus to represent power and judgement and they can be used to explain Alan and Dysart's actions and track character changes within them. By making eyes and sight a motif, Shaffer is sending a message that people are strongly influenced by what others think about them.
Why did the Equus go extinct?
The fossil record indicates that major changes in climate and vegetation at the end of the Pleistocene may have been the last nail in the coffin for the horse. Extinction is not a rare event among life on Earth.
What is good about the Equus ark?
The Equus is a useful early game tame. It's fast and deals torpor with its buck attack so you can tame other creatures early game.
What religion is Dora in Equus?
devout ChristianA devout Christian and an indulgent parent, Dora brought up her son by telling him Bible stories and secretly allowing him to watch television, an activity her husband, Frank Strang, forbade. She is heartbroken by Alan's crime, but believes that neither she nor Frank is to blame for his bizarre behavior.
What does the horse symbolize in the story?
Horse symbolism and meanings include determination, endurance, valor, freedom, travel, beauty, majesty, and spirit. Horses are beloved by people around the world, so they have been important figures in the mythology and folklore of many cultures, as well as in people's personal lives.
What does the horse symbolize?
The horse is a majestic animal that embodies the spiritual power of independence, freedom, nobleness, endurance, confidence, triumph, heroism and competition. Its symbol is associated with strength, courage and freedom.
What do horses symbolize in native American culture?
American Indian horses were a primary symbol of wealth and strength. They were sacred to the natives. Whereas in other cultures horses were just seen as a means of transportation or an accessory in battle, the Native Americans viewed the horse as a sanctified blessing that should be protected at all times.
What do horses symbolize in paintings?
Horse is a popular subject in fine art history. The horse represents vigorous spirit and driving force in life which further becomes a sign of ruling class. In some famous western paintings, horses are always shown in portraits of noble class.
What is the setting of Equus?
Drama. Setting. The Present; Rokeby Psychiatric Hospital, Southern England. Equus is a play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses. Shaffer was inspired to write Equus when he heard of a crime involving a 17-year-old who blinded ...
Who illustrated Equus?
The first illustrated edition of the play text was produced as a large-format artist's book by the Old Stile Press, with images and an afterword by the British artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins, in 2009. City Lights Theater Company of San Jose, California revived Equus in March 2011.
How did Alan get his attraction to horses?
Alan reveals to Dysart that, during his youth, his attraction to horses came about by way of his mother's biblical tales, a horse story that she had read to him, Western movies, and his grandfather's interest in horses and riding. Alan's sexual education began with his mother, who told him he could find true love and contentment by way of religious devotion and marriage. During this time, Alan also begins to develop a sexual attraction to horses, desiring to pet their thick coats, feel their muscular bodies, and smell their sweat. Alan reveals to Dysart that he had first encountered a horse at age six, on the beach. A rider approached him, and took him up on the horse. Alan was visibly excited, but his parents found him and Frank pulled him violently off the horse. The horse rider scoffed at the father and rode off.
What were the effects of Alan's midnight riding?
The effects of Alan’s midnight riding was noticed by the stable master when he saw how exhausted they were. This was based on the folklore of pixies. They take horses from stall and ride them all night, returning them exhausted and with mysteriously knotted manes in the morning.
What does Alan see in the horses?
Alan sees the horses as representative of God and confuses his adoration of his "God" with sexual attraction. Also important is Shaffer's examination of the conflict between personal values and satisfaction and societal mores, expectations, and institutions. By employing classical structure, themes, and characterisation, ...
Where was Equus re-run?
Equus was revived in Houston, for a limited run in July 2014 at Frenetic Theater. The production was largely funded by donations on Kickstarter and was well received by critics and audiences alike. Broadway World called the production 'dark, daunting and sensual' and commending its 'stellar cast'.
Who played Alan in Equus?
Lauren Raher and Brad Mays as Jill and Alan in Equus, as directed by Mays in May 1979 in Baltimore. Dysart gives Alan a placebo "truth pill". Revealing a tryst with Jill, he begins to re-enact the event: Jill, who has taken an interest in Alan, asks him to take her to a porno theatre.
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Why did Alan blind the horses?
He found himself impotent in the face of his god, and, after chasing Jill away, he blinded the horses so that Equus could not see him.
What does Dysart see in Alan?
Dysart is more and more taken with Alan; he sees in him someone who is filled with a passion, whose life is filled with worship, and he envies Alan. His own life seems so safe and secure, so empty of energy and passion that he questions whether his treatment of Alan is anything less than a monstrous sacrifice to the normal.
When did Equus become a movie?
Some plays lend themselves to cinematic interpretation. A play whose cast of characters includes men dressed as horses ain't one of them. And yet in 1977, Equus became a Hollywood movie, starring the master of backstreet acting himself, Richard Burton.
When was the equus seed planted?
Mad About the Boy. The seed for Equus was planted sometime around 1971 . Peter Shaffer was driving with a friend through the bleak English countryside and remarked on the abundance of stables. The friend shared a story he'd heard at a recent dinner party in London about a disturbed young man who'd blinded 26 horses with a spike one night.
What was the cumulative effect of Equus?
The cumulative effect turned the Equus experience into something like a spectator sport. And a terrifying one at that. The show reduced audiences to a "breathless silence," as Shaffer recently recalled in the New York Post. "You could feel that silence solidifying around you. You could almost tap on [it]."
Who played Dysart in Equus?
In 1973, Equus made its stage debut at London's Old Vic, starring Alec McCowen as Dysart and Peter Firth as the juvenile steed fetishist. Critics hailed the play for its challenging storyline, and ticket buyers turn it into an unexpected blockbuster. The staging was enormously influential, as well: The actors portraying ...
Who were the actors in Equus?
"It broke the nervousness of opening night.". Scenes from the Equus movie, featuring Richard Burton and Peter Firth.
Was the horse in the movie Blinds 6 real?
They spent a year working on the project before filming began. Initially reluctant to sign on, Lumet insisted on two things: The horses in the film had to be real, and the violence had to be depicted, not pantomimed. "A boy who blinds six horses is not your average hero," Lumet said at the time.
Does Strang dig horses?
It quickly becomes evident that Strang really digs horses, and not in a platonic fashion. His obsession has become a private religion, with a god figure Strang calls Equus. Giving the story an extra shot of psychosexual subversion, the finished script specified that the horses must be played by actors.
What is the equus?
The Equus name might remind you of the term equestrian, concerning ;horseback riding, and thats because the Latin term equus in fact refers to the;genus of mammals which includes horses .
When did the Hyundai Equus come out?
The Hyundai Equus was introducedto the U.S. market 2011 and when it debuted, it was hard for just about anyoneto wrap their heads around the fact that it came from the same manufacturerthat produced the Accent. After a few years, it gained a little more acceptance,but not that much more as it was eventually discontinued after the 2016 modelyear, which is when Hyundai started the Genesis brand.
How much is a 2016 Hyundai equus worth?
The 2016 Hyundai Equus has a Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price of $62,450 for the Signature model and $69,700 for the fully loaded Ultimate edition. At these prices, the Equus indeed looks like a value compared with rivals. Base versions of the BMW 7 Series, Lexus LS and Jaguar XJ for example, begin in the mid-$70,000 range, while an Audi A8 starts in the high $70,000 range. A Mercedes-Benz S-Class, meanwhile, is nearer the 6-figure mark. The Cadillac CT6 is another possible alternative, although initially it wont offer a V8, which may be a turnoff for some. As one who values a good deal, be sure to check the KBB.com Fair Purchase Price to see what others are paying for the Equus. Long-term, the Equus resale value is expected to be in line with its European competitors, but below that of the Lexus LS.
How much does an equus cost?
Thats fine because the people who want the pinnacle of features and luxury from the time can scoop up an Equus for under $20,000.
Is the Hyundai Equus a luxury car?
The Equus was Hyundais first attempt at entering the luxury car world, and it didnt disappoint. Even though 2016 was the last model year produced, the Equ us is still more luxurious than ever.
Is the Hyundai Equus a full size sedan?
The Hyundai Equus was the companys first attempt at a proper full-size luxury sedan to tackle the likes of the Lexus LS, Mercedes S Class, BMW 7 series, Audi A8, etc.
Does the Hyundai Equus sell well?
But in general, the Equus doesn ât sell very well, and Iâm OK with that. Hyundai seems to be OK with that, too, because they donât devote very much effort to marketing the thing. Itâs just sort of there for people who know about it, and not there for people who donât, which makes up the vast majority of the North American population.
Overview
Equus is a play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses.
Shaffer was inspired to write Equus when he heard of a crime involving a 17-year-old who blinded six horses in a small town in Suffolk. He set out to constr…
Plot summary
Martin Dysart is a psychiatrist in a psychiatric hospital. He begins with a monologue in which he outlines the case of 17-year-old Alan Strang, who blinded six horses. He also divulges his feeling that his occupation is not all that he wishes it to be and his feelings of dissatisfaction and disappointment about his barren life. Dysart finds that the supply of troubled young people for him to …
Original Broadway production
The play opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre on 24 October 1974, ending on 11 September 1976. It then opened at the Helen Hayes Theatre on 5 October 1976, ending on 2 October 1977, for a total of 1,209 performances.
Film adaptation
Shaffer adapted the play for a 1977 film starring Richard Burton, Peter Firth, Eileen Atkins, Colin Blakely, Joan Plowright, and Jenny Agutter, directed by Sidney Lumet. Unlike stage productions, where the horses are portrayed by human actors, often muscular men wearing tribal-style masks, Lumet did not believe this could adequately be done in a film version, concluding a degree of realism was required, "because the reality he [Alan] was being watched he was going to create th…
Revivals
The first Midwest U.S. production of Equus opened March 1978 in Lansing, Michigan, at Boarshead Theatre. Directed by John Peakes, it featured Richard Thomsen as Dysart, David Kropp as Alan, Carmen Decker as Dora, and Lisa Hodge as Jill. Local controversy over the nude scene was largely mitigated by casting a married couple as Jill and Alan. This production went on to win Boar…
Further reading
• Shaffer, Peter (2005). Equus. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-8730-2.
External links
• Equus at the Internet Broadway Database
• Equus (1974 production) at the Internet Broadway Database
• Equus (1977 film) at IMDb
• Audience get up close and personal for Harry Potter star's nude debut. The London Standard, 12 October 2006. Dead link.