Equus (play) Equus (play) Equus is a play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses. Shaffer was inspired to write "Equus" when he heard of a crime involving a 17-year-old who blinded six horses in a small town near Suffolk. He set out to construct a fictional account of what might have caused the incident, without knowing any of the details of the crime. The play's action is something of a detective story, involving the attempts of the child psychiatrist Dr. Martin
Anthony Shaffer (writer) notable work was the play "Sleuth" (1970), which he adapted for the film version which starred Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine, and was Oscar nominated. He received Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America for both versions: for Best Play in 1971, and Best Screenplay in 1973. His other major screenplays include the Hitchcock thriller "Frenzy" (1972) and the British cult thriller "The Wicker Man" (1973) with whose director, Robin Hardy, Shaffer had previously set up a television production company Hardy, Shaffer & Associates. Shaffer was married three times—to Henrietta Glaskie, Carolyn Soley (with whom he had two children,