질풍노도, 그 이후 (Ⅰ): 런던 『에쿠우스』- 전위와 저항의 연착

Sturm und Drang and Its Aftermath (Ⅰ): Equus in London-Belated Arrival of Avant Garde and Protest

This paper investigates the popular and the critical responses to the London premiere of Peter Shaffer’s Equus (1973). The notion, established by Shaffer scholars, that the theatre production of Equus received unanimous acclaim both from the public and the critics is put into question. An extensive reading of London theatre reviews of the play reveals a much more complicated situation, in which positive reponses to its theatrical achievement are intermingled with negative ones regarding its thematic significance. In a final analysis, a tenacious criticism questioning the play’s societal meanings overrides the fervent reactions to its theatricality. The historical context of Equus and its critical reception is also examined, For its dramatic argument Shaffer’s play draws on the “ theatre of protest." which had continued to dominate the British theatre since 1950s: it also exploits the techniques and themes of avant garde theatre, whose movement was culminated in the fringe theatres of 1960s. As many theatre historians agree, early 1970s marked a turning point, after which avant garde theatre in Britain became absorbed into the mainstream and gradually disappeared. In that context, Equus, produced by The National Theatre, one of the most prestigious mainstream theatres of Britain, is seen to have secured its success by containing the social protest of the earlier tradition and diluting the principles of avant garde theatre.