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Daniel Radcliffe is Fearless in Equus |
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Reviews -
Play
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Written by Jenna Bensoussan
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Tuesday, 27 February 2007 |
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 Gielgud Theatre
17 year-old Alan Strang (Daniel Radcliffe) is sent to a hospital to
undergo psychological treatment after blinding six horses. There he
teaches his doctor (Richard Griffiths) the true meaning of passion and
belief. The audience lives within Strang"s unique psychosis and in turn
finds a passion and spiritual awakening of its own through his madness.
 The stage setup was magnificent for this type of production. Perfect
for all sorts of scene scenarios, and not one cast member was left out
of the arranging. It could not have been more cleverly constructed,
with its turn table platform, whisking its agonizing main character
away on his ride with Equus (Will Kemp) in the field.
Kemp did an amazing job portraying Nugget aka Equus aka Nugget aka “the
Young Horseman”. His poise and balance pantomime a delicate power, with
the subtly of raining snow. Radcliffe’s portrayal of Strang atop this
steady steed was both profound and symbolic— Christ in weighted chains
of ecstasy and anguish.
The horse characters within Equus were constructed of metal hooves and
heads…heads with glowing eyes. They were the whispers in the wind and
the shiver down your spine. Their presence was both gentle and
malevolent. These wondrous portrayals of beast and God were only
matched by Radcliffe’s genuine awe and chastity toward them. His eyes
twinkled with emotion like droplets of dew on an early morning. To see
this magnificent depiction of character—the stage seats are the thing.
There were many elements that made this production great…the intimate
lighting, the piercing sound effects—the rising smoke…but none compared
to the character interactions on stage. Richard Griffiths, Jonathan
Cullen, Gabrielle Reidy, Jenny Agutter, Joanna Christie, Colin
Haigh—they all gave amazing performances.
Griffiths does a fantastic job breathing life into Dysart. He creates a
comical, cynical, shell-of-a-man. His expression and movement were
fabulous.
Radcliffe…well what can I say about Radcliffe. He’s fearless. I have
been to many a show throughout my life and I haven’t bawled like a
banshee at a single one…the guy had me crying people. I don’t cry.
(Just don’t tell anyone).
Throughout the entire show Radcliffe was well poised, well spoken, in
character and emotionally charged. He hit every mark spot on…he
portrayed the right balance between insanity and reverence,
spirituality and emptiness, awakening and shutting down…it just all
clicked in one go. He definitely struck the right balance on stage.
To all of you planning on seeing this production—you’re in for a
whirlwind ride of laughs and arduous moments that promise to drain you
to your very core.
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