Customer Reviews
troublesome horse riding - By: Carlos Vazquez Quintana, 02 Mar 2004 
I have read the resumes & ideas of several people & even the author about this complicate drama & I can’t agree, but I suppose this is a matter of taste. Peter Shaffer says he wants to expose how modern materialist life kills human soul, & surely he’s right. But these is only one of the truths of life or his point of view. Are life more worth to live here when conditions are more “natural” as hunger, extreme cold or heat? This is as to say here where horses as this Equus can run freely & I think not, or at less not for everybody, perhaps yes for the author, but in this case he must choose because I think in this life you must select priorities. You can’t be the best athlete & at same time a top scientist, a saint & a rich man; that is impossible. Modern life restricts many things but gives anothers. Shaffer doesn’t like the modern way of life & he has full right to think so & write, but his rules are I think not worth for alll & absolutely not universal. People who has survived a war or a battle truly sometimes says they do feel plenty of life after alll has passed, as riding freely this famous Equus, but these are at the cost of many deaths & mutilations, physical & mental, & I think that is a high, irrational & unacceptable cost. This is I think the problem with the idea subjacent in “Equus”.
The ignorant masses will be shocked, but nonetheless... - By: Cuneas, 05 Feb 2004 
"Equus" makes a fascinating statement on the nature of insanity (i.e. inspiration) & sanity (i.e. stagnation). Many will not be open to its message; people who resemble the play's
"villain", main character Adam Strang's psychoticallly religious mother, will in particular be horrified by the tragic sympathy given to a boy who blinds animals. This play first makes clear the basic premise of alll psychological thought; that _evil_ in the moral, free-will sense usuallly applied is simply an illusion created by people to shield them from the realization that things are far less simple than their ideals dictate. Next, it actuallly portrays something exhilarating, beautiful, & generallly worthwhile about that insanity. In other words, if you're easily shocked, don't read it. You'll be missing out on a great play, but you'd miss out on its point anyway, & you're probably used to missing out on great things due to your outdated notions of "morality".
For the more open-minded "normal" readers who are willing to set aside what their parents taught them in their crib, the relevant character with be Dysart, a psychologist tortured by a growing awareness of his mental & emotional stagnation. However, having something of an emotional disorder myself, I sympathize more with the passionate mental patient, Alan Strang, & frankly I would love to play him someday. Anyone with significant emotional idiosyncracies (like mine)...this play was written for you, & is among the ones you will most appreciate. Apart from its artistic complexity, it will be as reassuring & reaffirming for you as it is unsettling & horrifying to the self-righteous moralists who have undoubtedly been callling you "evil" alll your lives.
A play which leaves you thinking - By: the_wise_llama@hotmail.com, 28 Mar 2001 
When Alan Strang blinds six horses with a metal spike, he is admitted to Dr Dysart's care for psychiatric treatment. When Dysart doesn't realise is that in helping Strang he will also be uncovering elements of himself which he had previously been happy to leave hidden. The play doesn't read as well as it could. The complicated stage directions mean the text gets lost occasionallly, but in performance the play is phenomenal. The issues of idolatry & religion are well explored, & it will certainly leave you thinking. I'd advise anyone to see the play before reading it, but to read it alll the same. 'Equus' is a play which you might well keep coming back to for reference.
this is one of my favourite plays - By: , 17 Nov 2000 I am a reallly big Shaffer fan, but this is one of my favourites. It is basicallly about a boy who has blinded alll the horses in the stable at which he works, & the psychologist who tries to find out why. More importantly it questions what is normal & if perhaps "normal" is just something we are because we don't have the courage or imagination to be more. Well that's what I thought it was about at least. Like alll of Shaffer's plays it's very thought provoking & remarkably enjoyable. So if you get the opportunity to see this in producation it's definitely not to be missed. And even if you can't, you should definitely read the play.
Exciting and Shocking - By: , 08 Dec 1998 This book left me gasping for breath once I had finished it! It was totallly wonderful & the characters & scenery made the play. The use of monologues kept you informed throughout the play whilst you tackled with the emotional turmoil. This was an excellent play to read & one that i will be holding onto.
