Peter Shaffer

Self-consciously staging itself in the psychotherapy sessions of a disturbed young man, Peter Shaffer's Equus is a shocking exploration of the limits of faith, of the intersecting worlds of the sacred and profane, and of the paltry value of a 'mundane' life, published in Penguin Modern Classics. When a deranged boy, Alan Strang, blinds six horses with a metal spike he is sentenced to psychiatric treatment. Dr Dysart is the man given the task of uncovering what happened the night Strang committed his crime, but in doing so will open up his own wounds. Dysart struggles in secret to define sanity, to justify his marriage, to account for his career, and finds himself questioning the 'normality' of his way of life. Ultimately, he must ask himself: is it patient or psychiatrist whose life is being laid bare? The most shocking play of its day, Equus uses an act of violence to explore faith, insanity and how the materialism of modern life can destroy humanity's capacity for pain and passion. Peter Shaffer (b. 1926), born in Liverpool, is an English playwright. Among his plays are The Salt Land (1954), Equus (1973) which won Shaffer the 1975 Tony Award for Best Play, as well as the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and Amadeus (1979) which won the Evening Standard Drama Award and the Theatre Critics Award for the London production, as well as being adapted into a 1984 film starring F. Murray Abraham and Simon Callow. If you enjoyed Equus, you might like Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 'Sensationally good' Guardian 'A very important play' The New York Times

Equus

An explosive play that took critics and audiences by storm, Equus is Peter Shaffer's exploration of the way modern society has destroyed our ability to feel passion. Alan Strang is a disturbed youth whose dangerous obsession with horses leads him to commit an unspeakable act of violence. As psychiatrist Martin Dysart struggles to understand the motivation for Alan's brutality, he is increasingly drawn into Alan's web and eventually forced to question his own sanity. Equus is a timeless classic and a cornerstone of contemporary drama that delves into the darkest recesses of human existence.

Lettice Duffet, an expert on Elizabethan cuisine and medieval weaponry, is an indefatigable but daffy enthusiast of history and the theatre. As a tour guide at Fustian House, one of the least stately of London's stately homes, she theatrically embellishes its historical past, ultimately coming up on the radar of Lotte Schon, an inspector from the Preservation Trust. Neither impressed or entertained by Lettice's freewheeling history lessons, Schon fires her. Not one however, to go without a fight, Lettice engages the stoic, conventionial Lotte in battle to the death of all that is sacred to the Empire and the crown.

A Comedy

Lettice and Lovage

A Play

The Royal Hunt of the Sun recreates the story of Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca empire in Peru, with a group of only 167 men, in 1532. The play is an incisive and visually dazzling exposition of colonization in which cultural and religious clashes, driven by the promise of immense wealth, lead to betrayal, death and destruction. It is also a deeply moving exploration of personal honour and frailty as the ageing peasant from Trujillo, Pizarro, encounters the Sovereign Inca and Sun God, Atahuallpa. The combination of the historical and the personal gives rise to a play of enduring pleasure and interest. As Nicole Ridgway, the editor, indicates, Shaffer's play raises questions about literature and culture that are of continuing relevance to contemporary society. This new edition encourages students to experience the theatrical and thematic richness of the play and to grapple meaningfully with its issues by providing extensive support in the form of a comprehensive introduction and user-friendly annotations.

By Peter Shaffer ; Edited and with Introduction and Notes by Nicole Ridgway

The Royal Hunt of the Sun

A Farce

Black Comedy

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder "Better and better!" cried Verity, chuckling and rubbing his hands. "A corpse in a blood-soaked room; a locked door and a locked window; a masked man; a beautiful girl trussed inside a wardrobe; and now a pretender to the throne! This is superb!" The little Sussex town of Amnestie had not known a death so bloody since the fifteenth century. And certainly none more baffling--to all except Mr Verity. From the moment he appears this bearded giant--ruthless inquirer, devastating wit and enthusiastic collector of the best sculpture--has matters firmly (if fantastically) under control. Things are certainly complicated, but this is hardly enough to deter Mr Verity. As he himself observes: "when the number of suspects is continually increasing, and the number of corpses remains constant, you get a sort of inflation. The value of your individual suspect becomes hopelessly depreciated. That, for the real detective, is a state of paradise."

The Woman in the Wardrobe

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a genius, the most brilliant musician the world will ever see. But the court of eighteenth-century Vienna doesn t recognize his talents - only Antonio Salieri, the Court Composer, does, and he is tortured by what he hears. Seething with rage at the genius of this flippant buffoon and suddenly aware of his own mediocrity, Salieri declares war and sets out to destroy the man he sees as God s instrument on earth. Peter Shaffer s award-winning play is a rich, exuberant portrayal of a God-like man among mortals, and lives destroyed by envy."

Amadeus

Equus deals with Dr. Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist, who is confronted with Alan Strang, a boy who has blinded six horses in a violent fit of passion. This very passion is as foreign to Dysart as the act itself. To the boy's parents it is a hideous mystery; Alan has always adored horses. To Dysart it is a psychological puzzle that leads both doctor and patient to a complex and disturbingly dramatic confrontation.

Two Plays

Equus and Shrivings

The Tony Award-winning drama deals with a psychiatrist's exploration of the psyche of a troubled seventeen-year-old boy who senselessly and systematically blinds six horses.

Teenager Alan, fought over by a religious mother and an atheist father, finds release in horses, until he is driven to blind them with a spike. Why?

Dr. Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist, is confronted with Alan Strang, a boy who has blinded six horses in a violent fit of passion. This very passion is as foreign to Dysart as the act itself. To the boy's parents it is a hideous mystery; Alan has always adored horses. To Dysart it is a psychological puzzle that leads both doctor and patient to a complex and disturbingly dramatic confrontation.

Lettice Duffet, an expert on Elizabethan cuisine and medieval weaponry, is an indefatigable but daffy enthusiast of history and the theatre. As a tour guide at Fustian House, one of the least stately of London's stately homes, she theatrically embellishes its historical past, ultimately coming up on the radar of Lotte Schon, an inspector from the Preservation Trust. Neither impressed or entertained by Lettice's freewheeling history lessons, Schon fires her. Not one however, to go without a fight, Lettice engages the stoic, conventionial Lotte in battle to the death of all that is sacred to the Empire and the crown. This hit by the author of Equus and Amadeus featured a triumphant award-winning performance by Dame Maggie Smith in London and on Broadway.

A Play in Three Acts

Shrivings

Motivation for Survival is an author's journey through life's challenges. The book offers an easy step by step method of correcting bad habits and becoming a winner again. You will learn about Romance, Divine Powers, Humor, and how to motivate yourself. This book teaches how to decrease stress, control self- sabotage, and develop your inner-self by becoming positive. You will learn how to incorporate goal-setting, sports and relaxation to become the absolute best you can be.

Motivation for Survival

Outlet Book Company Staff

Random House Value Publishing Staff

The Collected Plays of Peter Shaffer

The Gift of the Gorgon

Equus is Peter Shaffer's exploration of the way modern society has destroyed our ability to feel passion. Alan Strang is a disturbed youth whose dangerous obsession with horses leads him to commit an unspeakable act of violence. As psychiatrist Martin Dysart struggles to understand the motivation for Alan's brutality, he is increasingly drawn into Alan's web and eventually forced to question his own sanity. Equus is a timeless classic and a cornerstone of contemporary drama that delves into the darkest recesses of human existence.

Peter Shaffer

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