WHILE previous stagings of Equus frequently focused on the young protagonist Alan’s infatuation and ultimate blinding of his equine charges as a lament for the loss of mysticism and spiritual passion in a materialistic world, this English Touring Theatre production brings out all the latent homoeroticism in the text.

The intimacy and passion shared between the young stablehand and Ira Nubella’s proud physical embodiment of Nugget, the horse at the centre of his obsession, highlights the boy’s otherwise arid life.

As the horses, the semi-naked and muscular performers move with equine grace and strength and they become objects of deification for Ethan Kai’s tortured teenager Alan as he lives out a midnight fantasy at the stables in order to escape a world of suppressed sexual desire and impotence.