Radcliffe's naked talent makes Equus a hit

Regular readers may recall that I am no great fan of the playwright Peter Schaffer, and Equus (1973) seems to me to contain every bit as much phoney baloney and pseudo-profundity as such other of his hits as Amadeus and the Royal Hunt of the Sun.

Daniel Radcliffe in Equus
Daniel Radcliffe throws off the mantle of Harry Potter

It is, however, no pleasure putting the boot into an octogenarian especially an octogenarian theatrical knight who admits in the theatre programme that it hurts him very much when critics viciously attack his plays. Mea maxima culpa.

And even I must concede that Equus, which I last saw as a trainee reviewer in the mid-70s, packs a terrific theatrical punch in Thea Sharrock's powerful revival, evocatively designed once again by John Napier.

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