EQUUS - Mumbai

Derived from the Latin word for ‘Horse’, EQUUS is a psychological drama that delves deep into the mind’s primal corners. Written in 1973, the English “whydunit”, inspired by a real-life incident, unravels the mystery behind a shocking act of violence; “Seventeen-year-old, Alan Strang, blinds four horses with a metal spike, in a single night.”

The story follows Martin Dysart, a child psychiatrist, who begins treating Alan, only to find himself grappling with his inner turmoil. As the investigation unfolds, Dysart brings to light, Alan’s religious, emotional, and sexual obsession for horses, which leads him to confront unsettling truths about the nature of normalcy, worship, and desire. Consumed by envy of Alan’s raw, unfiltered passion, he is forced to confront the suffocating monotony of his own life.

Playhouse re-imagines the classic through Jung’s lens of “Shadow Self”, and makes use of the evocative power of shadow theatre to throw light on the darkness that remains hidden. Alan’s intense passion and obsession with horses becomes a powerful metaphor for humanity`s most profound extremes—what we suppress, what we idolize, and what ultimately defines our very existence.