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Equus [Paperback]

Peter Shaffer (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

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In "equus," which took critics and public alike by storm and has gone on to become a modern classic, peter shaffer depicts the story of a deranged youth who blinds six horses with a spike. Through a psychiatrist's analysis of the events, shaffer creates a chilling portrait of how materialism and convenience have killed our capacity for worship and passion and, consequently, our capacity for pain. Rarely has a playwrite created an atmosphere and situation that so harshly pinpoint the spiritual and mental decay of modern man
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Customer Reviews

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4.9 out of 5 stars
26 reviews
4.9 out of 5 stars
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars ...comments on Equus April 4 2002
By Phil
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed this play very much and have read it several times. Each time I read the play I grasp a better understanding of what Shaffer may be conveying to the audience. This play made me ask so many questions about society today and what some of the truths are in life.
I do not believe this play to be about materialism or convenience and the killing of our capacity for worship, passion, or pain. Alan had a capacity for worship and passion, just not within the normal boundaries of societies acceptable views. Alan had the capacity for pain, but reached his climax when in the stable and blinded the six horses. If man is materialistic it is because the opportunity presents itself and we are already that way. There is no spiritual or mental decay of modern man. Religion flourishes as it always has, and causes peace and war as it always will. We know more now than we ever did in the past about medicine, science, the arts, humanity, the origin of man, and life itself.
In the case of Alan, he suffers from mental illness, but can be healed with love and passion from those around him; Dysart being the one to take the first step and not giving up on him. Worship is not a human need, but the freedom of worship is a human right. I believe this play to hold these truths; the human need for understanding, compassion, and healing.
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5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Chilling Mystery Dec 23 2001
By Gary Jaffe
Format:Paperback
Imagine this:

Step one: take an Agatha Christie novel
Step two: mix in a bit of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Step three: add a little bit of sexual innuendo
Step four: add very distinct and creepy staging
Step five: add religion
Final Step: add horses and...

BOOM!

you've got Equus- a chilling mystery about a lunatic who blinds horses because of...well, now that would be telling the ending of the mystery, wouldn't it!

A must read for anybody mature enough to read it (13+ probably)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Frightening, yet powerful Dec 18 2001
By Emily McMahon
Format:Paperback
Equus is a hard-hitting dramatic work that will make readers question their beliefs in mental illness, religion (particularly Christianity), and the emotional and spiritual emptiness described in most adults as 'normal behavior.' Schaffer achieves a nearly unthinkable task at making his audience almost feel sympathy for Alan, a young man who has cruelly blinded six horses.

Along Dysart's (the psychiatrist who must discover why Alan has committed such a horrible crime) and the reader's journey through Alan's tortured life and mind, the reader comes to partially understand and all but accept Alan's deed as a man's faith betraying him. Dysart, paralelling Alan in the 'normal' world, experiences that loss of worship in a far different, yet equally devastating manner.

I suggest seeing the play performed if at all possible. Seeing Equus live-action truly brings it's horrific brilliance to life.

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Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the masterpieces of contemporary theater
This is one of the most dense, hard-hitting, catharsis-inducing, adjective-provoking works of modern theater and a keynote in contemporary literature. Read more
Published on Mar 27 2001 by Mr. Egregious
5.0 out of 5 stars Believe it or not, a page turner!!
This play was incredible!! I chose to read it because Peter Shaffer was one of the authors on my AP English list. Read more
Published on Aug 9 2000
4.0 out of 5 stars Powerfull
I hate reading with a pasion and the only reason I have read this is because that is is one of our set works . Read more
Published on May 31 2000 by Tony Fryer
4.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful Play
Equus is a powerful play dealing with a myriad of issues including psychiatry, love, crime, insanity and family in a compact and readable manner. Read more
Published on May 30 2000 by Adam Shah
5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer disturbing brilliance......
As the most well-known and acclaimed of Shaffer's plays, Equus definitely makes that reputation obvious as soon as you open the pages. Read more
Published on April 27 2000 by Clay Bacon
5.0 out of 5 stars The eyes of the beholder.......
Schaffer's play about the blinding of stabled horses by a young man professed to have a deep love for horses is both disturbing and spell-binding. Read more
Published on April 12 2000 by Dudley Ristow
5.0 out of 5 stars He blinded six horses with a metal spike...
My GCSE (16+ exams) English coursework title - "What makes 'Equus' a powerful play?" After rattling on for 6 sides, I realised that I was never going to have enough time,... Read more
Published on Mar 18 2000 by Sarah Perkin
5.0 out of 5 stars This is why I'm in theatre!
Equus was the first of Shaffer's works that I had read and I'm happy for the opportunity. This play IS theatre; if you're not ready to be impacted, put this one down! Read more
Published on Mar 4 2000 by D. Landrum
5.0 out of 5 stars A Frightening Realisation
It is a pleasure of mine, as Head of the Faculty of English at Baltimore University, to occasionally come across such fine writing as Shaffer's Equus. Read more
Published on Jan 31 2000 by Dr J. Evans Pritchard
5.0 out of 5 stars What a play!
I only read this book because it was a required text on my Year 12 (final year high school) syllabus, but it has totally changed my thinking on society as we know it. Read more
Published on Oct 12 1999
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