Harry Potter Has Connection to Monmouth

You heard it from the "Pudding" second! In this week's Good Show London Theatre Newsletter Baz of the Mail is quoted as saying that Harry Potter's "Daniel Radcliffe will play Alan Strang in Equus at the Gielgud ( previewing from Jan 16, opening Feb 27 - tickets not on sale for a while yet). It will be staged in the round with 60 seats rumored to be on stage - close to Radcliffe's first nude scene (no wand jokes, please). . . they could become the hottest tickets in town, literally."

I am normally not a gossip columnist, but as I saw the very first production of Equus (from the stage for 30 or 50 pence as I recall) I thought some history might be in order. It was at the Old Vic, when it was still the home of the National Theatre, way back in 1973 and Peter Firth played Alan Strang in the John Dexter directed production. It blew me away, not so much for the nude scene (which I believe was Dexter's addition and not called for in Schaffer's original script) but for the actors who played the horses with their sculpted heads, high hoof like boots, and magnificent body movements.
It was still on my to do list in 1979 when it was released for amateur production and I jumpted at the chance to direct it at Monmouth College (Illinois not New Jersey). It was, I believe, the very first amateur production in the state of Illinois. Joel Nadel played Dysart and Doug Rankin (now ace designer and a professor of theatre at Monmouth) played the lead horse. Doug designed and welded the heads and shoes for the show and one of the heads and a set of the high shoes were still in the prop room a few years ago.

We wish Mr. Radcliffe well wand and all. (Sorry!)