Dysart another important character in the play talks about Alan’s religion as ‘his worship’. This implies that it is the spark that makes Alan different not strange. Martin Dysart can relate to this because he knows what it feels like when something that it important to you is taken from you. His work was his spark but recently he has not been enjoying the rest of his life. He feels that when he is not at work then he is not himself.
He refers to his wife as a ‘woman he has not kissed in 6 years’ when talking to a friend. This shows that life outside of work does not seem as important as it used to.
Like I said earlier Alan’s mother Dora is a religious woman, and has tried to influence Alan down the same path as her, by reading the bible to him from a young age. She tried to make him believe everything as much as she did because she believed it to be the right way of life. Alan’s father Frank, being an atheist believes that it is all Dora’s fault because she read him the religious stories. Frank could never understand the importance of the Bible or of any religious beliefs of any sort. When Alan was younger he had not thought twice about the stories because he didn’t see them as a problem but now he is sure it is because of them.
Equus therefore leaves a lot of unanswered questions which keep the audience interested in the play and makes them want to find out the answers.
Alan’s relationship with Dysart
Alan is sent to see a psychiatrist who happens to be Martin Dysart. Alan starts off by only answering Dysart with songs and jingles from adverts. But soon he begins to open up fully and truthfully to Dysart and they begin to become friends. Not only does Alan start to talk about himself and his past but he also analyses Dysart too. He tells Dysart that if he asks a question then Alan will ask him one in return. Alan then starts to feel more comfortable with Dysart and shares everything with him. By the end of the play they are very close but at the beginning this would not have seemed possible
Dysart begins to realise that Alan is not just another patient. He begins to envy him and starts to question himself. Dysart starts his therapy with Alan by asking him typical psychiatrist questions which trick Alan into saying things he would normally refuse to tell anybody but further on in the play he begins to talk to him like a normal person and believes it should be him receiving the therapy. Alan talks to Dysart easily as the play goes on. He believes at one point that he has taken a truth drug which will only make him tell the truth, but it is only an aspirin. So Dysart finds out what Alan has wanted to say. Alan must find it a relief to talk to someone who is willing to listen
In the film of Equus the relationship between the two characters is clear to see but in the play you have to look slightly deeper to find it. The actors in the play have to be very talented to show the true meaning of this play Staging this story as a play would be difficult anyway, as well as having to really show the emotions of each character in the way they act towards each other and towards the audience, the set and the props and everything necessary in a play this size would be very challenging.
The reaction of the audience in scenes 25 to 35 is very much different from their reactions earlier on. This would be because of the dramatic change in the story and the relationship between Dysart and Alan is very strong in these scenes. These scenes have the most impact on the audience and on Dysart in the play. Alan opens up to him completely and Dysart, I don’t think, was expecting so much truth from Alan. This makes Dysart see just how much trust Alan has in him. He opens up his soul to Dysart, and he doesn’t realise this until these scenes.
Alan never really had a very good relationship with either of his parents, in that he could share his feelings and talk to them about any problems or worries he may have been having. The way he acts so distant from Dysart at the start of the play, and how long it takes Dysart to get through to him, shows how he has never really had anyone he can open up to and talk to.
How he reacts to Dysart’s questions in scene 3 onwards, gives the audience the impression that Dysart and Alan are 2 very different people, and that gives the audience the impression that they Dysart and Alan will never properly understand each other, and may never have anymore of a relationship than what they started of with.
Dysart pushed the relationship because he was being paid for it, but once they got closer and began to understand each other, and then they both made an effort because they wanted to and not because they had to. Without Dysart making Alan think that he wanted to talk to him and get to know him, Alan may not have trusted Dysart the way he did and then nothing would have been achieved, but in the end they made their relationship work because they wanted to, which showed that they both genuinely y wanted to share their feelings and emotions.
So in the end, Alan and Dysart had developed a relationship based on trust and honesty, and that was extremely unexpected, and was a big shock to the audience of the play and the viewers of the film. But they connected with each other and felt they could talk and open up their hearts and souls, which in the end helped them both.