MANILA, Philippines - It so happens in theater and film that a part gets more attention than the whole. We have all been entranced by The Godfather’s glorious I-do-renounce-him baptism/murder scene, and excited to see the celebrated Miss Saigon chopper (which was once absent on gala night) before Chris leaves Kim, perhaps forever. These are among those moments, unsettling or beautiful or both, that stick to your head worse than an election jingle.
Such is the case in Repertory Philippines’ Equus. And the part that has been drawing all the attention, as it happens, is body parts. As the play reaches its climax, it gives its audience Alan Strang’s much-anticipated revelation — in more ways than one.
This sensational nude scene (where Daniel Radcliffe famously stripped his boyish image) is vital to the plot, but is still only just a part, which comes at the very end. In order to appreciate Equus for all its worth, however, we must start at the beginning.
Hailed as Best Play in the 1975 Tony Awards, Peter Shaffer’s seminal work follows the narration of disgruntled psychiatrist Dr. Martin Dysart (Miguel Faustmann) as he attempts to uncover what led 17-year-old Alan Strang (Marco Manalac) to maniacally blind six horses in his care.
What unfolds is not just a provocative journey into the recesses of Alan’s mind, but also, and perhaps more importantly, a series of questions that leads Dr. Dysart to take a painful second look at the life he has chosen. We find that it is Dysart’s story as much as it is Alan’s.
The play brings some very difficult questions to fore. Treatment sessions between doctor and patient become the stage on which themes of religion, sex, morality and integrity are played out. Audie Gemora’s masterful direction takes these and twists them into the artfully grotesque.
The minimalist backdrop — a departure from the visually brimming original production — serves to magnify the characters, highlighting the sensual detail of each line and gesture. Faustmann carries the narrative powerfully, grabbing the viewer from the very first scene and never letting go. Manalac likewise delivers, navigating his role with ease and confidence.
The two are backed by a stellar supporting cast: Jaime del Mundo and Tami Monsod as Mr. and Mrs. Strang, Roselyn Perez as the magistrate Hesther Salomon, Dido dela Paz as stable owner Harry Dalton, Katsi Flores as the resident nurse and Phoena Baranda as Jill Mason, with a host of muscled horses to boot.
Repertory Philippines’ rendition of Equus is resonant: it probes and shakes, asks and accuses, sometimes all at once. The mark that it makes with its questions lingers far longer than any of its visuals — proving, once and for all, that its whole is indeed greater than the just the sum of its parts.