Equus

One of the finest actors of his generation stars in this award-winning play from one of Britain’s greatest contemporary playwrights. 

Toby Stephens, who has played countless iconic Shakespearan characters for the RSC as well as stealing the screen as a memorable Bond villain, takes on the acclaimed role of psychiatrist Martin Dysart in Peter Shaffer’s (Lettice and Lovage, Amadeus) modern classic. 

In Equus, Peter Shaffer brings together two powerhouse roles, psychiatrist Martin Dysart and his teenage patient Alan Strang. Inspired by a true story, the play sees a bond developing between the boy and the doctor as Dysart searches for the answers to the teenager’s obsessive interest in the horses he cares for.

RSC Associate Artist Toby Stephens’s stage and screen career spans four decades. On stage he won the 1994 Ian Charleson Award for the title role of Coriolanus at the RSC, where he has also starred as Hamlet and in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, All’s Well That Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra and Measure for Measure, while his West End credits include The Real Thing, Private Lives and Wendy & Peter Pan. He is well known for his screen roles as Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day, Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC’s Jane Eyre and most recently Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Disney+). 

The Theatre Royal Bath hosts the only performances outside of London for this brand-new co-production with the critically acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory. 

One of the country’s most-sought-after directors, Lindsay Posner leads a stellar ceative team including Paul Farnsworth (set & costume design), Paul Pyant (lighting design), Adam Cork (sound design), and movement from Olivier Award winning choreographer James Cousins.

“The most incredible piece of drama I have seen in my life” Financial Times

“Shaffer’s gripping drama” Evening Standard

“Great drama” Daily Mail

“Packs a terrific theatrical punch” Daily Telegraph

“Compelling… an exciting theatrical event” Guardian