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Today should have had three different plays, but unfortunately, I had to trim one out because of work. Nevertheless, I saw two productions of very very different styles.

The first was a play entitled The Quiet Violence of Dreams and was – like 4.48 Psychosis – centred round mental hospitals. Unlike the former, however, it was set in South Africa. It also seemed very complicated to me. I’m uncertain if I actually understood the play completely. With an age restriction of Sex, Nudity, Violence and Language, it came as little surprise that it contained such things as rape and much sexual innuendo. Unlike Equus, however, there was no full on nudity, nor any very graphic sexual scenes. The set contained a projector which every now and then played a clip over the set. I found these clips to be a waste and did not add anything to the story. Indeed, I felt that they distracted from the overall production.

This was followed by the first of the Orchestral Performances which I booked. Like the ballet, I had a pre-assigned seat in the Guy Butler theatre and made my first use of the Festival Hopper Buses to get to (and from) the monument. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. The performance was very classical – the conductor was even in Tails! We were even treated to an unexpected dose of Opera. (Although, I would have known that if I had read the programme properly.) It was good to get the opportunity to see an orchestra for a very rare change. I am looking forward to tomorrows performance.

I first came across Equus in High School. It was a play which Lidia Upton was obsessed. At the time I only read little bits of it and never really knew what it was about. However, when I got the opportunity to see it, I jumped at it. It was only later that I realised that it has become a very well known play recently as Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) has starred in it in London.

Equus is usually regarded as one of the best “post war” dramatic productions, and it more than certainly lived up to expectations. At this stage of Fest, it is a tossup between Equus and Romeo and Juliet for my favourite production. It is a long play and has an interval – the first production I have seen at Fest to have one. Simply the story is of a child psychiatrist investigating the motive of a young man who stabbed the eyes out of six horses.

There is much, much more to the play, however. It is a complex and potentially unnerving play. It tackles Religion, alternate Religious views, alternate sexuality – and does so in a very passionate way. It is an uncomfortable play and contains nudity, strong language, even cigarettes (although these were not the real thing).

In contrast to 4.48 Psychosis, it is not immediately disturbing, but leaves you thinking. Well recommended.