Overview
- Reviews published on May 20 and 21 praise the Menier Chocolate Factory revival for its stark, intimate staging and strong acting.
- Toby Stephens is widely singled out for his troubled, envy-tinged portrayal of Dr Dysart and Noah Valentine is described as delivering a raw, potentially breakthrough turn as Alan Strang.
- The production uses six bare-chested ‘horsemen’ choreographed by movement director James Cousins to embody the animals without prosthetics, supported by Adam Cork’s subterranean sound design and Paul Pyant’s atmospheric lighting.
- Director Lindsay Posner favours minimal set pieces and tight physical focus in the Menier’s three-sided auditorium, a choice reviewers say intensifies the play’s themes of desire, repression and ritualised passion.
- Equus at the Menier is presented in co-production with Theatre Royal Bath and is booking through 4 July, continuing a long tradition of revivals that probe the play’s provocative mix of sexuality and psychology.