Peter Shaffer – författare

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.

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

When Edward Damson, English playwright, dies in his Aegean home, his son Philip, whom he never acknowledged, begs permission from his stepmother to write his biography. She warns that he will find it painful. Edward's life is mirrored in the Greek myth of Athena and Perseus who slays the Gorgon.

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? While treating the boy, a psychiatrist discovers his own life is paradoxically in the witness box.

*Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play* *A Broadway production starring Richard Griffiths and Daniel Radcliffe* 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. “Remarkable...a psychiatric detective story of infinite skill” (The New York Times) Equus is a timeless classic and a cornerstone of contemporary drama that delves into the darkest recesses of human existence.

Peter Shaffer's three most renowned plays, plus a radio monologue performed by Dame Judi DenchSir Peter Shaffer was one of the most distinguished and successful British playwrights of his generation. He won the Tony Award for both Amadeus and Equus, and the film adaptation of Amadeus garnered eight Oscars. In 1997, he was awarded an OBE, and he was knighted in the 2001 New Year honours list. This collection contains his best-known plays and a monologue specially written for radio, first broadcast in 1989.Amadeus - Antonio Salieri is 18th-century Vienna's favourite composer - until a brilliant young upstart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, appears on the scene and takes his crown. Consumed by jealousy, Salieri plots his rival's downfall... Directed by Sir Peter Hall, this sensational drama is performed by the cast of the original National Theatre production, including Paul Scofield, Simon Callow and Felicity Kendal.Equus - When psychiatrist Martin Dysart is asked by the local magistrate to treat a disturbed 17-year-old boy who has blinded six horses, he soon finds himself in the midst of a nightmare. Starring Peter Barkworth and Ian Sharrock.The Royal Hunt of the Sun - In 1532, Francisco Pizarro and his 167 soldiers captured the last Inca Emperor, Atahuallpa. This gripping drama, starring Gerald Murphy and Norman Rodway, tells the story of the conquest of Peru, and the power struggle and fatal friendship between the Spanish conquistador and the Sun-God King.'Whom Do I Have the Honour of Addressing?' - Alone in her Clapham flat, Angela Parsons dictates a potentially explosive memoir onto her cassette recorder. It is an account of her life, death and a shocking scandal involving Hollywood's most beloved film star... With Dame Judi Dench as Angela Parsons.Text copyright (c) Peter Shaffer 1964 (The Royal Hunt of the Sun), 1973 (Equus), 1979 (Amadeus), 1989 ('Whom Do I Have the Honour of Addressing?')Cast and creditsWritten by Peter ShafferAmadeusAntonio Salieri - Paul ScofieldWolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Simon CallowConstanze Mozart - Felicity KendalJoseph II - John NormingtonGottfried, Baron van Sweiten - Nicholas SelbyCount Franz Orsini Rosenberg - Willoughby GoddardJohann Kilian von Strack - Basil HensonVenticelli - Donald Gee/Dermot CrowleyCitizens of Vienna - Nigel Bellairs, Susan Gilmore, Peggy Marshall, Robin Meredith, Anne Sedgwick, William Sleigh, Glenn WilliamsEquusMartin Dysart - Peter BarkworthAlan Strang - Ian SharrockHeather Salomon - Jennifer PierceyFrank Strang - Malcolm HayesDora Strang - Jane WenhamJill Mason - Jenny TwiggeHarry Dalton - Ronald HerdmanYoung Horseman - Philip SullyNurse - Jan CareyOther voices - Richard Gibson, Nigel Greaves, David Parfitt, Jonathan ScottThe Royal Hunt of the SunKing Atahualpa - Gerald MurphyPizarro - Norman RodwayOld Martin - Bob PeckHernando de Soto - Edward de SouzaDiego de Trujillo - Gordon ReidYoung Martin - Matthew SimPedro de Candia - Keith DrinkelFray Vincente de Valverde - Nigel AnthonyFelipillo - David HoltDomingo - Nicholas MercieChallcuchima - John FlemingMiguel Estete - Martyn ReidSalinas - Peter GunnRodas - John WebbOther parts played by members of the cast'Whom Do I Have the Honour of Addressing?'Angela Parsons - Dame Judi Dench(c) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ambition and jealousy - all set to music. Devout court composer Antonio Salieri plots against his rival, the dissolute but supremely talented Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. How far will Salieri go to achieve the fame that Mozart disregards? The 1981 Tony Award (R) winner for Best Play.