Meanwhile: Equus, Let the horse run

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Meanwhile: Equus, Let the horse run

Published: 28 Jan. 2026, 00:05

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Kim Myung-hwa

The author is a playwright and director.

This year is the Year of the Red Horse. In the theater world, works such as “War Horse,” which traverses the battlefield, come to mind. But when one thinks of the raw energy of a horse running freely, Peter Shaffer’s “Equus” (1973) inevitably rises to the surface.

A scene from the play “Equus” [EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE COMPANY]

The play sent shock waves through audiences in Europe and the United States with its intensity and unsettling power, and it became a landmark work in Korea as well. First staged in 1975 at the Experimental Theater in Unni-dong, Seoul, it drew some 260,000 viewers over the course of a decade through long runs and revivals. Even now, productions marking the 50th anniversary of its Korean premiere are continuing.

“Equus” centers on Alan, a teenage boy who blinds several horses, and Dysart, the psychiatrist tasked with treating him. At the heart of the story lies worship. Growing up under repressive parents, the boy experiences a horse by chance on a beach and becomes intoxicated by its untamed presence.

Through self-suggestion, including the belief that “even Jesus was born in a stable,” the boy elevates the horse to a godlike status. But adolescence brings sexual awakening, and with it confusion. When his attempt at physical intimacy with a girl fails inside a stable, he is overwhelmed by terror. He feels he has betrayed the object of his worship and imagines the horses’ eyes watching and judging him. In panic, he drives a metal spike into their eyes.

Why has this story, which can seem pathological or grotesque at first glance, continued to grip audiences for decades? The answer may lie in Dysart’s anguished reflection that a doctor can destroy passion but cannot create it.

Today, people consult artificial intelligence even when planning dates. Through social media, they constantly measure themselves against the gaze of others around the world. They labor like machines to prove their existence within online systems of authentication. Yet deep in the unconscious, there remains envy for Alan’s desperate flight from the world, for the moment when, while everyone slept, he became one with a horse, drenched in sweat, and ran toward freedom and passion.

As the new year of the Red Horse begins, one hopes that it will not be filled only with news about artificial intelligence, but also with stories that remind us of free spirits, human and animal alike.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.