What do Harry Potter and Game of Thrones’ Theon Greyjoy have in common? Both of the actors who portray these roles have starred as Alan Strang in stage productions of the psychological drama Equus.
Joining the two actors, Daniel Radcliffe and Alfie Allen, is Queensland actor Christoper Batkin, who will be taking to the stage at the Brisbane Arts Theatre in their portrayal of the young man’s story.
Written by the late British playwright Peter Shaffer, the play centres on the sessions between disaffected psychiatrist Dr. Martin Dysart and his young patient Alan, who has spent his life around horses but in a sudden horrific act of violence has blinded six of them with a metal spike.
“Equus became famous recently because Daniel Radcliffe did it about 10 years ago,” Chris said.
“It was his big breakout role, because everyone had only seen him as Harry Potter for almost 10 years at that point. Everyone was all abuzz about him.
“He broke out of the mould of that character he’d built for himself over that series by doing this dark mysterious play about blinding horses and probing the depths of the human mind.”
Daniel also made headlines around the world when he bared all on stage during a scene late in the play.
“If it’s good enough for Daniel it’s good enough for me I suppose!” Chris said.
“I’ve been doing theatre for 12 years now, and a lot of it has been musicals and musical comedy so I guess this is one of the darker, more challenging roles I’ve had.
“It’s a mysterious, suspenseful play and you see the way damaged people commit acts of violence and I think that’s a theme that’s always going to be relevant, unfortunately.”
Equus is running from July 30 to September 3 at the Brisbane Arts Theatre at 210 Petrie Terrace in Brisbane. Tickets are available from Brisbane Arts Theatre’s website.
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