In a spotlight stands alan strang, a lean boy of seventeen, in sweater and jeans. Sir peter shaffer, in full sir peter levin shaffer born may 15, 1926, london, eng. The drama unfolds through the eyes of martin dysart, a psychiatrist and an amateur mythologist, who narrates the events of. Equus by peter shaffer, 9780743287302, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. The initial premise on which all this hangs, is that pitch darkness to the characters is equivalent to brilliant illumination to the audience. Equus is a drama play by peter shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses shaffer was inspired to write equus when he heard of a crime involving a 17yearold who blinded six horses in a small town in suffolk. He set out to construct a fictional account of what might have caused the. Author peter shaffer sir peter shaffer b 1926 peter shaffer is the author of numerous awardwinning plays, several of which have been filmed. Peter shaffer wanted to make elaborate theatre the guardian. Black comedy a farce peter shaffer every play in the world. Equus, a play in two acts, is set in rokesby psychiatric hospital in southern england. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of equus by peter shaffer.
Remarkably, though, peter shaffer achieved the feat in three successive decades. Writing for theatre arts in february, 1960, peter shaffer made a declaration of independence. Theatre and drama, madeleine macmurraughkavanagh veconnect 20141202. Shaffer worked as a conscript in the coal mines in england from 1944 to 1947.
The author expressed his reservations about the plays translation into print text, concerned to stress the. Through a psychiatrists analysis of the events, shaffer creates a chilling portrait of how materialism and convenience have killed our capacity for worship. The atrocity was committed by an unassuming seventeenyearold stable boy named alan strang, the only son of an opinionated but inwardlytimid father and a genteel, religious mother. Comparitive analysis of power and control in equus and gattaca. Amadeus is a musthave for classical music buffs, theatre lovers, and aficionados of. Peter shaffer poses with daniel radcliffe in january 2009 when the actor was honored with a portrait at sardis. Equus by peter shaffer is one of the six set texts for the new edexcel a level the play.
Equus, drama in two acts by peter shaffer, produced and published in 1973. Equus play script software free download equus play. Black comedy written by peter shaffer bench theatre. English playwright sir peter shaffers international hit is a dazzling, complex, and thrilling look at passion, sex, religion, and sanity. Equus is a play by peter shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses.
Peter shaffer 19262016 was inspired to write equus by the chance remark of a. Alan will be saved, he says, by riding away on equusthe horse can thus be interpreted as alans escape from the pressures of his family life and modern society. Equus play project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. He has won every major dramatic award as well as an academy award for the screenplay adaptation of his play amadeus. Equus is a 1973 play by peter shaffer about a young stableboy who is driven to madness by his emotional pain, insecurity, and his inability to face his past in a rational manner. Equus script transcript from the screenplay andor richard burton. Adapted from shaffers stage play amadeus 1979, the story is a variation of alexander pushkins play mozart i salieri, 1830, in which the composer antonio salieri recognizes the genius of wolfgang amadeus mozart but thwarts him out of envy. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay andor viewings of equus. The exam requires students to explore how they would realise key extracts from the play. Alans pose represents a contour of great tenderness. Before studying the play equus itself, one might look at the background and development of its author, peter shaffer. In the 1970s peter shaffer wrote three major plays. Martin dysart, a psychiatrist, is confronted with alan strang, a boy who has blinded six horses in a. Antonio salieri, an older composer, propelled by jealousy, plots the tragic downfall of his brilliant rival.
English playwright sir peter shaffers international hit is a dazzling, complex, and. Finally, the equus script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the richard burton horse movie based on the peter shaffer play. Equus tells the disturbing story of a 17year old stable boy, and amadeus is the story of mozart and court composer, salieri. Join our community just now to flow with the file equus a play pdf and make our shared file collection even more complete and exciting. Equus is a dramatic work written by english playwright peter shaffer in 1973. Equus script taken from a transcript of the screenplay andor the richard burton horse movie based on the peter shaffer play. Shaffer was inspired to write equus when he heard of a crime involving a 17yearold who blinded six horses in a small town in suffolk. Existential authenticity in character, setting, and. Pauls school in london and worked during world war ii as a conscript in a coal mine.
Its publication definitely brought an innovative spirit to the contemporary theatre. A comedy frenchs theatre scripts, peter shaffer black comedy is a oneact farce by peter shaffer, first performed in 1965. Jun 06, 2016 remarkably, though, peter shaffer achieved the feat in three successive decades. Shaffer was born to a jewish family in liverpool, the son of reka nee fredman and jack shaffer, an estate agent. Equus play script software free download equus play script. Equus script transcript from the screenplay andor richard. The action takes place after the event in the hospital which the courts have remanded alan, and while the crime is central to the play, the play revolves around the character of the. The royal hunt of the sun was adapted for film in 1969, as was equus in 1977. Equus act i, scenes 16 summary and analysis gradesaver. In equus, which took critics and public alike by storm and has gone on to become a modern classic, peter shaffer depicts the story of a deranged youth who blinds six horses with a spike. Equus by peter shaffer is one of the six set texts for the new edexcel a level syllabus. Peter shaffer sir peter shaffer born peter levin shaffer 1926051515 may 1926 liverpool, lancashire, england, united kingdom died 6 june 201620160606 aged 90 county cork, republic of ireland nationality british alma mater trinity college, cambridge information notable works black comedy, equus, amadeus. Equus summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. In a way it is a onejoke play, where the joke is indefinitely prolonged and becomes more absurd every moment.
An explosive play that took critics and audiences by storm, equus is peter shaffers exploration of the way modern society has destroyed our ability to feel. Among his plays, the salt land 1954, equus 1973 which won shaffer the 1975 tony award for best play as well as the new york drama critics circle award, amadeus 1979 which won the evening standard drama award and the theatre critics award for the london production. Equus is the dramatization of a psychologically damaged young man, alan, who, for no known reason, blinded six horses with a hoof pick at the stables he worked at. The best way for students to understand how they would play the. The script of the play was written subsequently to its production. Remembering the great amadeus and equus playwright peter. Remembering the great amadeus and equus playwright. It depicts a psychiatrists fascination with a disturbed teenagers mythopoeic obsession with horses.
Like christ, equus must first suffer in order to bring salvation. He wrote numerous awardwinning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Adapted from shaffer s stage play amadeus 1979, the story is a variation of alexander pushkins play mozart i salieri, 1830, in which the composer antonio salieri recognizes the genius of wolfgang amadeus mozart but thwarts him out of envy. At the time radcliffe was starring in a revival of shaffers play equus. Equus is a play by peter shaffer written in, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts archived pdf from the original on 12 april retrieved 5. Equus is a drama play by peter shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses. Softbiz recipe script is a highly advanced and powerful php script to run your own recipes site.
Essays and criticism on peter shaffer critical essays. A psychiatrist, martin dysart, investigates the savage blinding of six horses with a metal spike in a stable in hampshire, england. Multiple links are listed since a different versions exist and b many scripts posted become unavailable over time. It depicts a psychiatrists fascination with a disturbed teenagers mythopoeic obsession with horses the drama unfolds through the eyes of martin dysart, a psychiatrist and an amateur mythologist, who narrates the events of his rehabilitation of alan strang, a 17yearold stable boy who has been arrested for. Get close to the stars and experience one of the most beautiful theatres in the uk read more. Shaffer was born a twin his brother is anthony in 1926 in liverpool, england. Script is built with focus on increase ease of users and profits of webmasters. Afterwards, he says, they always embrace the animal digs his sweaty brow. Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by milo forman and written by peter shaffer. Through a psychiatrists analysis of the events, shaffer creates a chilling portrait of how materialism and convenience have killed our capacity for worship and passion and, consequently, our capacity for pain.
Dysart discovers a fervent, passionate, almost religious power that has both the power to destroy alan, and perhaps, to save the doctor himself. These are, of course, shaffers most famous plays and are the most frequently performed and studied one good reason for devoting two chapters to the analysis. Pdf amadeus a play by peter shaffer download ebook for free. Now, this extraordinary work about the life of wolfgang amadeus mozart is available with a new preface by peter shaffer and a new introduction by the director of the 1998 broadway revival, sir peter hall. Read equus online by peter shaffer books free 30day trial. I know, i know, i still need to get the cast names in there and ill be eternally tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to drop. Black comedy a farce peter shaffer every play in the. Peter schaffers black comedy is a classic farce from 1965, in the tradition of the marx brothers.
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