Review: EQUUS, Starring Toby Stephens, Menier Chocolate Factory

It's nearly twenty years since Daniel Radcliffe first tried to throw off the Harry Potter shackles in the 2007 version of Peter Shaffer’s 1973 play Equus. Now director Lindsay Posner has revived Shaffer's deeply traumatic story about the fluctuating relationship between a psychiatrist, Dr Martin Dysart, and a teenage boy, Alan Strang. Featuring a remarkable cast and exquisite visuals, this is one not to be missed.

The product of a religiously obsessive mother and a seemingly puritanical father, Alan has dangerous fixations with both horses and God, which have become merged and have led him to perform an act of awful violence. To avoid jail, he has been committed to a mental institution where his doctor attempts to discover what drove him to blind six horses with a metal spike.

Based on a true-life story, Shaffer's taut script explores sexuality, masculinity, rationalism and shame. Does medicine extinguish passion? Does repression prevent having a life worth living? It is a troubling and unnerving play which requires deft handling. Posner delivers a sensitive and nuanced production, with a slowly rising sense of tension and dread embedded within.

Noah Valentine is a mass of twitching nerves as Alan; jumping from raw rage to painful vulnerability, he is harrowing to watch. His fingers twitch, his foot cannot keep still and a vein in his neck pulses. The only time he is at peace is when he is with horses, entwinning his body with theirs. Valentine evokes huge empathy with his performance, deftly showing a young man haunted by demons and sexual urges he cannot quite understand. It is a riveting and powerful performance.

As his counterpoint, Toby Stephens is compelling as a world-weary and crumpled Dysart, who seems about to implode through disappointment in his own personal life, combined with his increasingly conflicting thoughts about how by treating Alan, he takes away his passion, however twisted that might be. And what is life without obsessive passion? Stephens gives humanity to the role, ranging from despair, doubt and moral uncertainty at his actions.

The supporting cast is excellent. Amanda Abbington gives emotional weight to magistrate Hesther, effectively becoming Dysart's own pyschiatrist. Emma Cunniffe and Colin Mace show the conflict and acute sadness of being Alan's parents and Bella Aubin as Jill Mason is sensitive and kind as she attempts to be Alan's friend.

Six bare-chested men present throughout, sit at the back of the stage, ready to portray the horses. Led by Ed Mitchell's Nugget, their bodies writhe, moving individually and as one. James Cousins's movement direction is precise and strong in depicting the horses without masks. The actors capture the motion of the animals sudden shying away from people, with bodies rippling and eyes rolling. It has a balletic, ethereal and highly charged feel, coming to a thrilling and unsettling climax as Alan's violence is re-enacted. Adam Cork's sound design rumbles with such fervour, it feels as though a freight train is hurtling under the theatre and Paul Pyant's lighting design strobes with huge intensity.

The Menier is a brilliant venue for the production, small enough to convey the intense claustophobia in the play, but also to appreciate the strength of the actors at such intimate quarters. It feels almost voyeuristic, peering into the darkness of Paul Farnsworth's stark set. Posner approaches the famous nude scenes with delicacy and thoughtful care, but leans into the inherent unease in the play. It is not an easy watch, but a hugely moving and compelling one.

Intense, uncomfortable and truly powerful, a West End transfer seems likely, but catching it in this bijou venue should not be missed.

Equus is at the Menier Chocolate Factory until 4 July

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2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Lead Performer in a Play - Top 3

1. Daniel Radcliffe - Every Brilliant Thing

27.8% of votes

2. Nathan Lane - Death of a Salesman

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