Lighting
The lighting in Equus changes throughout the play. For most of the play, the square is lit dimly, but it always brightens as Alan enters. When Hester and Jill enter the square, the lighting becomes warmer. This shows the audience that these characters are gentle, loving characters who are warm at heart.
The main focal point of the lighting is Alan. When Dysart or any of the other characters are talking about Alan when he is sat his bench, a spot light settles on him to highlight him. This tells the audience that Alan is the most important part of the play – even when he isn’t on the stage.
Lighting is also used to help set the scene. In Scene 29, Alan tells Dysart the story of the incident in the cinema. At the start of this story, the lights dim, creating the illusion of being n the cinema.
The light also helps to create a mood in some of the scenes. For example, in Scene 34, the stage blackens just before Alan blinds the horses. This tells us that something terrible is about to happen. Then, in Scene 35, the light grows gradually brighter as Dysart is comforting Alan and telling him that it’s all over. This shows us that Dysart is like Alan’s hero – he’s cured Alan of his psychological problems and now he should be able to lead a normal life.
Stage Set-Up
This non-naturalistic layout is effective because it allows the use of non-naturalistic horses and requires the audience to use their imaginations a little. Both of these help to create the illusion of being in a fantasy, making the play seem more like it’s in someone’s head, in much the same way that Equus is in Alan’s head.
The Essay on Opening Scene Wanted Play Movements
My Part... Each member of the group had certain things to contribute to allow the project to work. On my behalf I arranged the scenes in their order to let the rhythm of the play flow in a correct way. I thought that the opening scene should be strong & symbolic. This is why I decided to put the scene with the bible & the bloody body at the beginning. This is a very symbolic scene, it ...
This non-naturalistic layout is better than a naturalistic layout mainly because of the space it uses. It would be very difficult to fit stables, Dysart’s office, Frank and Dora’s front room, a cinema, Alan’s bedroom and the road Jill and Alan walk back to the stables along all in one theatre, and the non-naturalistic layout is easily transformed into all of these, sometimes just by changing the lighting. Also, a naturalistic setting would require naturalistic horses, which would also be difficult to fit in a theatre.
Costumes
This is how I would imagine Alan and Dysart to be dressed. Alan is on the left, Dysart the right.
I have Alan in a plain, dull T-shirt, a pair of jeans and an old pair of trainers. This shows us that he is a teenager whose parents aren’t rich, because he’s not got flashy, expensive clothes. He appears to be just a normal teenager.
Dysart is in a dull, plain blazer/jacket, a pair of dull trousers and an ordinary pair of black shoes. Like Alan, he doesn’t have flashy clothes, suggesting that he isn’t well-off. The clothes are dull, boring, and ordinary – this is how Dysart appears in the play. Because of his job, I think he should be in a suit, but I don’t think it would be a smart suit with matching trousers and jacket.
Sound Effects
The main sound effect through out the play is the Equus Noise. This is a mixture of stamping, thumping and humming from the actors sat upstage. It is used to represent the presence of Equus. It is heard when ever Alan is reliving the events that lead up to the incident and when he has his nightmare in Scene 8. The Noise informs the audience that something relating to Equus is about to occur. One example of this is at the start of Scene 32 – the Equus Noise make a warning hum as Jill takes Alan back to the stable. This is to warn us of the events that are about to happen.
In Scene 19, Dysart taps a pen on a wooden rail to hypnotize Alan. After four taps, the sound he is making is replaced by a metallic sound on a tape. This is to draw our attention to Dysart, who gives us another of his monologues. If the sound had not changed, it may have been interpreted that he was still talking to Alan, but really he wouldn’t have been talking to anyone – it is just a way of letting us now his thoughts and the turmoil he is going through whilst continuing on with the hypnotic taping sound.
The Essay on Equus 2 Alan Dysart Doctor
Equus Equus, written by Peter Shaffer, the creator of plays such as Amadeus and The Royal Hunt Of The Sun creates a psychological thriller that probes deep in to the misguided intentions of religion in a boy named Alan Strang. The play does not stop with character development in him though; it also explores the doctor treating him, Martian Dysart, and even Alan s parents, Dora and Frank. The play ...
