Shaffer’s Equus at Lighthouse.

In a Hampshire stable, a youth blinds six horses with a metal spike.

Inspired by a true story, Equus, Peter Shaffer‘s unique psychological thriller, explores the complex relationships between worship, myth and sexuality. Following in the footsteps of the immense success enjoyed by the play’s West End revival in 2007 with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, Shaffer’s powerful, absorbing drama makes a brief stop at Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts from November 1st – 3rd, as part of a UK tour, with a vibrant new ensemble breathing fresh life into this theatrical masterpiece.

Convicted of this appalling crime, seventeen-year-old Alan Strang is sent to a secure psychiatric hospital. Martin Dysart, the child psychiatrist assigned to him, begins to probe Alan’s past in an attempt to understand his motives. Initially the boy is silent and uncooperative, but as Dysart digs deeper, he gradually gains Alan’s trust and the truth begins to emerge. As Alan struggles to be free of his demons, he must first relive the events of that terrible night.

Equus was originally staged in 1973 at the Royal National Theatre, London. In 1977, a film adaptation of the play was released starring Richard Burton and Peter Firth. In 2007, the play was revived in the West End for the first time since its première, in a critically-acclaimed production starring Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths.