Preview: Equus, Bristol Old Vic

Inspired by a true story, Peter Shaffer’s Equus (Bristol Old Vic, Apr 16-20) explores the complex relationships between devotion, myth and sexuality.

When teenager Alan Strang’s pathological fascination leads him to blind six horses in a Hampshire stable, psychiatrist Dr Martin Dysart is tasked with uncovering the motive behind the boy’s violent act.

As Dysart delves into Alan’s world of twisted spirituality, passion and sexuality, he begins to question his own sanity and motivations in a world driven by consumerism.

Following two consecutive sell-outs with The Weir and A Streetcar Named Desire, English Touring Theatre return to Bristol Old Vic with Ned Bennett’s bold new production of Peter Shaffer’s critically-acclaimed psychological thriller.

We caught up with actor Ethan Kai, who plays Alan Strang.

Tell us about how you landed the part of Alan Strang. Did you know the play beforehand? What drew you to it?
I’d heard of the play before, and of previous productions, but had never read or seen it. I read it two or three times before the audition.
I found that it was Alan’s complexity that really grabbed me at first. He’s difficult, insecure and very guarded. However, he also has within him a fiery passion that he can’t control – and a spirituality that transcends the everyday world around him, all of this surrounding the very same animal he brutally attacked. I think that’s one of the many really interesting discussions that the play elicits: the power of passion, how it brings wonder, joy and fulfilment but also has the potential to destroy.

Ethan Kai (foreground) in English Touring Theatre’s production of ‘Equus’, which visits Bristol Old Vic from April 16-20. All pics: The Other Richard

Tell us about Alan. How has he come to have this pathological fascination with horses?
Alan is an introvert. He’s grown up inside his head. From a very young age he’s had this obsession that he’s had to keep secret, believing that no one could possibly understand it. His life since then has revolved around his relationship to this obsession. Every other area of his life (social, education, career) has to come second to this relationship.
The great thing about the play is that it doesn’t give you direct answers: it sort of places the pieces there and encourages you to find your own relationship to the story and characters, and to piece together for yourself why Alan is the way he is.
I always love to hear how people have related to it in their own way. Even after doing it for two months now I’m still amazed at hearing some of the ways audience members have interpreted the story.

Zubin Varla as the psychiatrist Martin Dyasart

Could you imagine Alan, with his very specific thoughts, issues and behaviours, in the real world, or is he less a recognisable character and more a symbol of something?
Before starting the play I did some reading into psychiatry, mainly in younger people, and came across some cases with children/teens whose suffering had stemmed from spiritual aspects of their life. Many of these problems were also rooted in shame and sexuality, things that Alan is also struggling with.
Whether or not there are people riding horses naked out there, I don’t know. But I wouldn’t consider it far-fetched to believe that there are people in the world who have found themselves down incredibly destructive roads when faced with identity, sexuality and spirituality, very much in the same way Alan has.

It’s interesting that the play follows both Alan’s own thoughts and feelings, and how Alan makes the psychiatrist Martin Dysart question his own thoughts and beliefs. Do you feel Alan is truly the central character, or is our attention divided between them?
Well, it’s actually Dysart’s story. He brings the audience in on this story, and explains why this boy and this situation has caused him to question everything. They both have what the other wants – yet it’s the nature of Alan’s trauma that prevents either of them from getting it, and I think that’s what makes their relationship so interesting. They are constantly battling, testing each other, trying to get what they want without revealing their hand.

Ira Mandela Siobhan (Nugget) and Ethan Kai (Alan Strang)

How much sympathy do you think the audience are encouraged to feel with a) Alan and b) Dr Dysart?
Before we ever properly meet Alan, we are told about the horrific thing that he’s done. I think it can be quite easy to find Alan pretty abhorrent at the beginning, especially when we see his hostility and disdain towards Dysart. As Alan begins to open up, we see that he’s far more than just some psychopathic animal abuser: we start to sympathise with him as we realise just how damaged and vulnerable he is.
As for Dysart, I think the audience can very easily sympathise with him. His clear concern for Alan, despite their clashes, and the way he provides at times an almost paternal role for Alan, are something indicative of a deeper, tragic area of Dysart’s life.

What, ultimately, do you think the play asks us to think about?
I think one of the most prevalent things for me is this idea of ‘normal’, a word that’s so commonly used and yet rarely thought about. This idea that we must all conform to what we have been told is an acceptable way to exist, and that anything different or unique should be discouraged, even forcibly removed from people. I think now, more than ever, it’s so important to see the beauty in our differences and to celebrate what makes us unique or weird.

Norah Lopez Holden as Jill Mason, with Ethan Kai as Alan Strang

Tell us a little about the staging of this production.
Well, everyone working on this has gone above and beyond and I can’t sing their praises enough. Ned [Bennett], our director, wanted to take an Artaudian approach to staging the play. We really didn’t want to let the audience off the hook with any of it. He also played a lot of games and exercises with us in rehearsal and encouraged freedom in the space as well as keeping an element of play throughout.
Giles, our sound designer, did an amazing job with the music and sound. Sometimes it’s almost quiet enough to make you question whether you heard it: at other times, nightmarish sounds pierce through the air in a split second.
I feel insanely fortunate and proud to be a part of this production and I strongly urge anyone to come see it while it’s here.

Equus is at Bristol Old Vic from April 16-20. For more info and to book tickets, visit bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/equus