On page 61, Shaffer does something revolutionary: he inverts the doctor-patient dynamic. Dysart realizes that curing Alan—removing his "affliction"—means reducing him to a "normal" zombie, just like every other teenager listening to pop music in front of the television. Shaffer asks: Is it better to be a passionate lunatic or a sane corpse?
Alan's passion for horses begins when he encounters a majestic horse named Black Beauty. He becomes enthralled with the animal's power, beauty, and freedom. As his fixation grows, Alan starts to work at a stable, where he develops a bond with a horse named Joey. His relationships with his family and friends deteriorate, and he becomes increasingly withdrawn. Equus Peter Shaffer Pdf 61
Shaffer constructed the play as a psychological detective story where the "solution" is not a conviction, but a diagnosis—or perhaps, a realization of the psychiatrist's own inadequacy. On page 61, Shaffer does something revolutionary: he
The play opens not with the crime, but with the aftermath. We are introduced to Martin Dysart, a child psychiatrist who is tasked with treating the perpetrator, a seventeen-year-old stable boy named Alan Strang. The title Equus is derived from the Latin word for "horse," and the animal serves as both a plot device and a central deity within the play’s mythology. Alan's passion for horses begins when he encounters
If you find a PDF, respect the copyright. If you cannot afford the play, visit a library. And when you finally read the line on page 61— "Let me be your knife, Equus. Let me be your stabber." —close the PDF. Go see a live production. Because Equus is not a document. It is a ritual. And as Dysart learns on that very page, a ritual cannot be experienced on a screen. It must be felt in the dark, with the horses breathing around you.
Let us address the elephant (or horse) in the room. Equus by Peter Shaffer is still under copyright. Shaffer passed away in 2016, but his work is managed by his estate and published by Samuel French Ltd (now part of Concord Theatricals). A full PDF of the play distributed without payment is an infringement of copyright law.
Digital versions of the script and academic analyses can be found on several platforms: Equus Play Script - sciphilconf.berkeley.edu