Photo Flash: New Edgecliff Theatre Opens Its 2009/10 Season With EQUUS

New Edgecliff Theatre opens its 2009-2010 season with the critically acclaimed Equus.  Written by the Oscar Award-winning Peter Shaffer, Equus opened at the National Theatre in 1973 and became a worldwide sensation, winning both the Tony and Drama Desk Awards.  In 2007, a new production opened in LonDon Starring Richard Griffiths and Daniel Radcliffe (star of the Harry Potter series), becoming one of the biggest hits ever seen in the West End before moving to Broadway. 

Shaffer was inspired to write Equus when he heard of a crime involving a 17-year-old who had blinded several horses in a small town near London. Without knowing any of the details of the crime, he set out to construct a fictional account of what might have caused the incident.  

In the play, DR. Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist, is confronted with Alan Strang, a boy who has blinded six horses in a violent fit of passion – a passion as foreign to Dysart as the act itself.  To the boy’s parents, it is a hideous mystery – Alan has always adored horses.  For Dysart, already riddled with self-doubt, it opens a psychological Pandora’s box that leads both doctor and patient to a complex and disturbingly dramatic confrontation.

According to The Sunday Times, Peter Shaffer's Equus is, “…without doubt one of the greatest English post-war plays. As a work of art, it is magnificent. Rarely does contemporary drama probe so deep - an electrifying evening of theatre.” 

Directed by former New Stage Collective Artistic Director Alan Patrick Kenny with sets by Kristen Robinson, costumes by Jim Stump, lights by Glen Goodwin and Sound by Paul Lieber.  Featuring NET founder Michael Shooner as Martin Dysart, recent NKU grad Cary Davenport as Alan Strang, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company member Sara A. Clark as Jill Mason, as well as local favorites Aretta Baumgartner, Daniel Britt, John Scheller, Kate Glasheen, Mike Dennis and Regina Pugh.  

NET Artistic Director Greg Procaccino calls the ensemble, “one of the strongest in a cast this size I’ve seen in some time.”  

Due to brief nudity and other adult themes, New Edgecliff’s production of Equus is intended for Mature Audiences Only.

At the Columbia Performance Center, 3900 Eastern Avenue, Columbia Tusculum. Around the corner from Tostado’s, Allyn’s, Bella Luna and the Precinct.

Oct 1 – 17, Thur-Sat 7:30pm.  Pay-What-You-Can Preview: Wed, Sept 30, 7:30pm. Tickets: $20, Adult -- $15, Senior -- $12, Students.  Available online at www.newedgecliff.com. To reserve tickets or for more information, call 888-588-0137.

Photo Credit: Mikki Schaffner

Cary Davenport

Cary Davenport and Michael Shooner

Michael Shooner and Cary Davenport