barns.blog

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.

Last night were performances seven and eight. Firstly we went to hear the Wits Choir again, having enjoyed them so much the first time. This time they were singing to Five Men, Three Removed. It was another superb performance. It was very interesting to hear the differences between singing and singing with music, and how different the choir was with an electronic band. Once again, a superb performance. I managed to get a few photos with my phone. I’ll add these later.

Thereafter, Shane and I attended 4.48 Psychosis at PJ’s. In stark contrast to the music, this was a very serious – disturbing play. It was Sarah Kane’s last play and was directed by Ingrid Wilde (also of Saints ilk). It is about mental illness and the thoughts of a suicidal mind. I felt that it was an excellent performance, but was not enjoyable. However, this was expected from a play of this nature, and is still worth seeing. The set and cast mimicked the tone of the play, with a very simplistic set and just three members of the cast.

What a lovely way to end the evening. Outlines harmonised is a production performed by the Wits Choir, which is conducted by Dalene Hoogenhout who was (and is) the Director of Music at Saints.

In some respects, the performance was a little disappointing as some of the songs I was looking forward to (actually both songs I was looking forward to) were not part of the programme, despite being listed on the website.

Nonetheless, it was a fantastic performance, and we have decided to go and see a different one of their concerts later in the Festival. We did decide on most of our Fringe programme and I am going to juggle these tomorrow – whilst I work, and then go and book them.