Equus
Playwright: Peter Shaffer
Producer: Pieter Toerien for Pieter Toerien Productions
Direction: Fred Abrahamse
Set & Costume Design: Marcel Meyer
Lighting Design: Fred Abrahamse
Movement: Marc Goldberg
Soundscape: Charl-Johan Lingenfelder
Photography: Jesse Kramer
Cast: Graham Hopkins, Sven Ruygrok, Cassandra-Tendai Mapanda, Andrew Rough, Maggie Gericke, Len-Barry Simons, Marc Goldberg, Monique Basson
Venues & Dates: Theatre on the Bay [29 March – 20 April 2019] Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre [April/May 2019]
About: A re-imagined staging of Peter Shaffer’s modern classic where an ensemble of 8 actors doubled as the horses and principal characters in the play.
What the Press Said:
“This is a play that can be made or marred by its direction, and in the hands of Fred Abrahamse it reaches its full potential for brilliance: judiciously cast, evocatively staged and delivered at exactly the right pace…Marcel Meyer’s stellar treatment of the six horses featured, using nothing more than elegant heads and tower hooves, creates the requisite illusion. Stylisation is key to this production…A significant element is Abrahamse’s light design to complement the monochromatic set, with a nocturnal right on horseback one of several tours de force…this is theatre at its most powerful and rewarding” THE CAPE ARGUS
“Marcel Meyer has outdone himself with the set and costume design” – DIE BURGER
“Mind-bending: Fred Abrahamse and Marcel Meyer’s production of Equus for Pieter Toerien Productions is visually stunning and emotionally arresting theatre. I staggered out – stunned by what I had witnessed. If you need a number for a rating: Five star – plus.” THE CAPE ROBYN
“The lighting is excellent…the horse masks are magnificent…director Fred Abrahamse, designer Marcel Meyer and composer Charl-Johan Lingenfelder have delivered an absorbing and stimulating piece of cerebral theatre” DAIL MAVERICK
“Under the deft direction of Cape Town’s Fred Abrahamse, who visualises the unfolding events through cinematic eyes, this Equus is a pulsating, totally engrossing work of art.” ARTSLINK
NALEDI THEATRE AWARDS:
Best production of a Play [nomination]
Best Actor – Sven Ruygrok as Alan Strang [win]
Best Actor – Graham Hopkins as Martin Dysart [nomination]
Best Director – Fred Abrahamse [nomination]
Best Costume Design – Marcel Meyer [nomination]
Best Lighting Design – Fred Abrahamse [nomination]
FLEUR DU CAP THEATRE AWARDS:
Best Lighting Design – Fred Abrahamse [win]
Best Costume Design – Marcel Meyer [nomination]
Best Set Design – Marcel Meyer [nomination]
Best Actor – Graham Hopkins as Martin Dysart [nomination]
