Equus is the famous play made more famous recently when Harry Potter actor, Daniel Radcliffe, took to the lead role. Of course, while Radcliffe is a credible actor, him taking this role wasn’t enough to get the world’s media into a veritable feeding frenzy. The fact that Radcliffe’s appearance as Alan Strang required full frontal nudity, however, was.
Now it seems the relative far flung isolation of Perth is finally paying off when Equus opens at His Majesty’s theatre later this month. No… Radcliffe isn’t coming to reprise his second most famous role. Instead Perth audiences will be treated to the virtuosity of Khan Chittenden (Blue Water High, Clubland, National Lampoon’s Endless Bummer), a young Perth actor who embodies surfer good looks, yet who is articulate and prone to moments of profundity.
Speaking from LA of his character, Alan Strang, ‘He’s a character who has stepped outside of the societal boundaries,’ Chittenden said, ‘and who is just dealing in a magical, raw kind of insane but ultimately very sort of primal and passionate realm. Where his path has taken him is into a very raw and painful, emotional domain.
‘But what was interesting (for me) was that the character of the psychiatrist [played by William McInnes] has almost been numbed completely by his prowess of societal etiquette and answering the call of civilised nature. So it was really interesting just because the heart of this character is in chaos and I was very drawn to that.
While Chittenden is excited to be appearing in the role, one made famous not only by Radcliffe but a long line of ‘very dedicated actors’, make mention of the nude scene at the end of the play, and Chittenden falters, if only for a moment.
‘Basically I hope that when it comes to getting up on stage in front of everyone, and in front of the punters, that my head’s in the character. It’s basically a chance for me to take a big risk. The character’s journey is fairly involved and it’s something where I need to be able to be really absorbed in the world. So my mind can’t be on the audience in that sense.’
Despite the personal challenge involved in tackling some of the more confronting elements of the performance, Chittendean remains committed to the deeper themes of the work, explaining that Equus appeals to audiences, because ‘it calls out to that inner human nature which is not logical, which is felt and not calculated, that’s raw and basically is in a way taboo. But it’s there under the surface, that animal nature, that place in all of us where you don’t answer the questions, the questions answer you.’
Equus opens at His Majesty’s on September 15. Tickets are available now from www.bocsticketing.com.au.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
