Teaching Peter Shaffer’s Equus

Help when you need it most

We’re getting to that point in the term when energies are starting to run low and inspiration is drying up. That’s not just A Level Eng. Lit. students but their teachers too! Yet, before mocks kick off just before or after Christmas, exam texts need to be completed and revision undertaken.

Thank goodness help is at hand for anyone studying Peter Shaffer’s Equus. Launched this week are a series of Equus worksheets for teachers full of ideas for the classroom which get across to students the key aspects of the play. When you just can’t think what to do in your next lesson why not explore what’s on offer?

The free, downloadable pdf files cover subjects such as:

• The way Shaffer has structured the drama
• The impact of it’s opening and ending
• How the play was originally staged
• Analysing the effect of the influences on Alan, such as:
  • His parents
  • Religion and worship
• The outworking of specific imagery through the play.

Not only are these resources brilliant for teachers, they’re also a great help for students who need to catch up missed work (after absence) or revise the play.

Clarity for the confused

There is already a helpful guide to Equus at Crossref-it.info, which offers scene synopses, commentary and in-depth analysis. As with all Crossref-it.info material, there is lots of help to explain the context of the text. For example:

• On-site you’ll discover how the play shows the influence of Bertolt Brecht, as well as using symbolic and expressionist theatrical elements (see http://www.crossref-it.info/articles/519/Twentieth-century-experiments).
• The many pagan and biblical allusions (which are challenging for twenty-first century students and teachers) are all made clear, so that you can zip through each scene.

Although Equus was written in the 1970s, it has a lot to say about today’s culture, which can lead to thoughtful debate. May you have enough energy left to make the most of the play!