Equus

Equus is a psychological drama that delves into the complex mind of Alan Strang, a 17-year-old boy who blinds six horses in a fit of passion. The play unfolds through the perspective of Dr. Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist who attempts to understand Alan’s actions, leading to a profound exploration of religion, sexuality, and the nature of mental and emotional wellness. It was inspired by a true story of religious mutilation of horses near Suffolk. It constructs a unique theology in the young man’s mind involving horses and a fictional deity named Equus. This religious obsession also motivates animal sacrifice. Shaffer has stated that the play is rooted in the classic Greek conflict of Apollonian values such as reason and Dionysian values which appeal to emotions and instincts.

Written by British playwright Peter Shaffer, Equus was published in 1973 and quickly became one of his most celebrated works. Shaffer was the author of 18 plays between 1954 and 1992. In addition to Equus, Shaffer adapted his most famous work, Amadeus, into the Academy Award-winning film of the same name.

Equus had long-running productions in both London’s West End and on New York City’s Broadway. Anthony Hopkins, Leonard Nimoy, and Richard Burton have played Martin Dysart, and Daniel Radcliffe took on the role of Alan alongside Richard Griffiths in a 2007 revival. Critically acclaimed since its debut, it won both the Drama Desk Award and the Tony Award for Best Play in 1975, and it received several Tony nominations for the 2009 Broadway revival. 

This guide uses the 1975 Avon edition of Equus.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of animal cruelty, sexual content, and mental illness.

Plot Summary

Act 1 focuses on Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist in a mental hospital. He opens the play with a monologue about a challenging case—that of 17-year-old Alan Strang. He feels dissatisfied with his life, finding an endless supply of troubled young people who need his help, but he is not sure if he’s making a difference or just helping them fit into meaningless lives like his own. Although Alan Strang’s crime was supposedly extreme, Dysart wonders if radical acts are necessary to break free from the chains of ordinary life.

Martin is visited by a court magistrate named Hesther Saloman. She believes that he may be able to help Alan, who is imprisoned for a violent act involving six horses. At first, Alan is unresponsive, answering Martin’s questions by singing songs from TV commercials. Martin attempts to gain insight from Alan’s parents and finds that they’re bitterly divided on the topic of religion, with Alan’s mother being a devout Christian and his father being a dogmatic atheist. Both strongly push their beliefs and sabotage the other’s teachings. Alan has developed a consuming fascination with the more violent aspects of the Bible, as well as a fixation on horses.

In a monologue, Martin reveals that he often has disturbing dreams of participating in gruesome human sacrifices, but he feels pressured by society in the dream to keep doing what he’s doing. 

Martin’s attempt to unearth the root of Alan’s issues leads to Alan detailing his obsession with horses. It stemmed from the biblical tales his mother told him, as well as influences in media and family. Eventually, that fascination grew into a sexual obsession, as he found himself getting aroused by the horse’s hair, body, and odors. He first rode a horse when he was six, but his parents yanked him off the horse after only a minute. During hypnosis, Alan reveals that he’s fixated on removing the bit from horses’ mouths, which he sees as freeing them from slavery.

When Alan was 17, he met a young woman named Jill Mason at his job and learned that she worked at a local stable. Upon hearing him express his fascination for horses, Jill introduced him to Harry Dalton, the owner of the stables, who offered him a job. Alan proved himself a model worker, although he developed an obsession with one horse, Nugget. Alan tells Martin that he secretly took Nugget for naked midnight rides. Alan has a vision of himself as a king, sitting atop the deity Equus as they destroy their enemies. This visual ends Act 1.

In Act 2, Martin gives Alan a truth pill that is only a placebo, hoping to get to the root of Alan’s trauma. Alan reveals that he had a relationship with Jill, and once she asked him to take her to an adult theater. Upon arriving there, he encountered his father watching a pornographic film, which traumatized Alan. As he and Jill headed home, she convinced him to come to the stables with her. There, they attempted to have sex, but he was distracted by the sounds of the horses and was unable to get an erection. He became angry and yelled at her to leave. He then went to the horses, who he sees as god-like figures, and begged their forgiveness. He hallucinated the voice of the deity Equus, which manifests as Martin Dysart’s voice, and snaped. He blinded the horses in the stable with a steel spike, believing that they’d seen his soul and that blinding them will free him.

The play ends with Dysart monologuing, wondering whether his practice helps anyone or if Alan is beyond help. He also wonders if attempting to cure Alan of his obsession with horses will remove Alan’s humanity and everything unique about him.