Reviews

Equus

By Peter Shaffer

Directed by Mervyn Thompson

Downstage Theatre, June 18-July 19

Reviewed by Neil Rowe

Billed as the finest play to have emerged from England in the last decade and extravagantly reviewed wherever its been performed (Wellington being no exception), Equus has done much to restore my faith in the relevance of live theatre in today's electronic media monopolised world. Similarly Mervyn Thompson's very good production has gone a long way towards dispelling my fear that Downstage has become effete, no more than a venue for the fur coat brigade to see and be seen.

Kudos all round for this splendid piece of theatre. To Mervyn Thompson for his stylish production; to Ray Hen wood for another masterly controlled performance as Martin Dysart the psychiatrist; to Ann Budd for her thoughtful and unhistrionic characterisation of Jill Mason; to Anthony Groser and Joanna Derrill for their able and convincing performances as Frank, the atheistic working class father who gets his off at porno movies, and Dora, the middle class excessively religious mother with a highly suspect relationship with the almighty; to Raymond Boyce for his powerful minimalist set and beautiful horse masks, and to the horses and their trainer Elric Hooper.

The horses are amazing. Played by masked actors on built up hooves the suspension of belief is complete. One is not constantly remarking, as another reviewer has observed, 'ooh how clever'. They are horses. Reminiscent of the device used by Theatre Action in their 'Best of All Possible Worlds' where early New Zealand colonists staidly and delightfully 'sailed' to the new land on each others shoulders, these centaurs are entirely convincing. It is the successful employment of such artifice that is the essence of theatre.

Finally to Stephen Crane as Alan Strang, the boy who blinded five horses, the adolescent son of two 'normal' parents, and the psychiatric patient who forces the doctor, and the audience, to completely reassess their own assumptions about insanity. In this difficult role Stephen Crane is superb. It is very seldom in the theatre that one is not aware of the actor playing the role. Alan Strang is completely believable. This is a brilliant performance. I understand that Stephen Crane is a graduate of George Webby's National Drama School. He is a good advertisement for the school. More power to Mr. Webby's elbow.

I am a little suprised to find myself so enthusiastic about a play, that superficially at least, is not particularly substantial. Essentially a simple idea that owes much to R.D. Laing with overtones of William Golding, (Shaffer wrote the screenplay of 'Lord of the Flies' with a similar family situation to Shaffer's first play 'Five Finger Exercise'. The play is so well constructed, the characters so realistically portrayed and the flashback technique so eff-effective; it works so well as theatre that any weakness in conception is completely overcome by Peter Shaffer's craft and invocation of primitive ritualistic dramatic forces.

I was also a little apprehensive about the promised nude scene, expecting to be embarrassed by self conscious and themselves embarrassed actors. My fears were unrounded. This scene was low key and sensitively handled. Extremely moving as it poignantly evoked ones own adolescent gropings it was also curiously humbling. There is a vulnerability about two naked people on stage before a theatreful of clad people that is oddly affecting.

If I have a quibble it is with the set. I can think of several other plays to which this very simple scaffold would be better suited. The set is more like a prison than a stable, with the entire cast assembled throughout the play on benches on the upper level. While I appreciate the rationale for this, does it add anything to the production?

If you think theatre is dead, or if you hate it, go and see Equus. I'll wager you'll change your mind. It is, quite simply, breath takingly good theatre.

There were these two guys giving this concert in San Antonio, one says: "How many of you smoke grass?" A majority. "How many of you sell it?". Maybe a dozen, and Chong observes: "There's a difference isn't there? Like twenty years".

So says Checch and Chong the very first hard rock comedy act, the two irreverent dope freaks. They present hip burlesque, parody and their humour is often based around stereotypes.

Cheech wondering about what's being sold on TV these days says "Hey! All you groovy chicks out there, now you can get it together with all new! tie-dyed! Tampax!—-Up-tight and out of sight!"

Thomas Chong has a background of the show biz world, and played guitar in R&B bands around Western Canada. He recorded a hit single, then the band broke up. Tommy went back to directing stage shows for the family-owned topless night club.

Cheech - Richard Marin - was from a straight background, his father was a Los Angeles cop. Cheech joined a theatre group of three freaks, four top-less dancers and mime artists - it went well for a time but eventually finished. After this the two formed their duo, and were finally discovered by Lou Adler who signed them for his Ode label and their first album "Cheech and Chong". They went on to release "Big Bambu" and the latest "Los Cochinos".

The way to sum up Checch and Chong is in Chong's "They like us because we're crazy."