Structure

This is a one act play presented in eight scenes.

In an essentially naturalistic play the depiction of Mare and Stallion might initially seem to be problematical. When I first thought about writing this play, the poem by Edwin Muir seemed to suggest an ‘Equus’ style heroic horse to me. But as the play began to form in the writing, my thinking rapidly began to shift more towards the iconography of  Trade Union banners of the past.  For me, the 'Horses' represent something of a Britain that seems to have passed; what some might see as a romantic notion of the place of the working class in the culture of this country. But like the rocks of the Cumbrian fells, their place is as much part of the fabric of this country today. For me, what makes the poem and this play work is the meeting of two worlds, two different times. 

Accordingly, I think I might sway towards a depiction of the horses as representations of the working class from the early 1900s, and suggest ‘Horse’ through the physical styling of their movement. In the end this is only a suggestion and could equally be represented through their depiction ‘a la Anthony Sher’s Richard III using elbow crutches in the manner of an ‘Equus’ style horse. Or a combination of the two. Or in ways hitherto undreamed of....

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