STAGE REVIEW : ‘Equus’ Puts the Cart Before the Horse : Despite its bold visuals, the production by Rancho Santiago College’s Professional Actors Conservatory lacks clarity.

“Equus,” Peter Shaffer’s play about a young man who undergoes therapy after blinding six horses, is a torturous experience, an uneasy bonding of psychology, religious exploration and individual agony.

There’s no doubt that Shaffer packed a lot into his drama: violence, nudity, rage, tears, youthful discovery, midlife crisis, even a laugh or two. Maybe that’s why it won the Tony Award for best play of 1975 and later became a movie starring Richard Burton--”Equus,” now in a dynamic-looking but opaque production by Rancho Santiago College’s Professional Actors Conservatory, gives you plenty of bang for your buck.

You can’t escape its flaws, though, chief among them the central question of what really prompts Alan Strang (Daniel Trippett) to maim the horses he so reveres. Yes, we understand he feels guilty for having a carnal experience in their sight, but why has he raised them to the holiest of symbols in the first place?

The reason for Alan’s religious obsession and his transference to horses has always been the black hole of “Equus.” It’s never been explanation enough to see that he comes from a dysfunctional family featuring a too-saintly mom and an uptight dad who likes pornography. Nor that he tends to face his adolescent emotional and erotic disturbances in peculiar ways. It’s also not enough that his father says simply that he’s a weird kid, nor that a doctor points out the obvious--that Alan is in terrible pain.

At PAC, director Fareed Al-Oboudi and his cast are stuck without answers, and it shows. The staging, for all its bold visuals and exuberance, lacks clarity.

Of course, crystallizing Alan’s torment and the heady subtext of his doctor’s (Aled Davies) own self-contempt over becoming dispassionate and analytical is the daunting chore facing the primary actors. Both Trippett and Davies tackled that challenge at Friday’s opening night by raising the emotional pitch.

Trippett was especially wound up. To be fair, it’s quite a demanding role for a student, one that tempts overacting at every step. But to be more convincing, Trippett should relax on the theatrics.

As for Davies (the lone union professional here), he obviously feels comfortable in his role, but he, too, gets caught up in the staginess. Whether he’s reacting to Trippett’s enthusiasm or not, it’s an uneven approach at best.

The most natural performance comes from Stacey Cornell as Jill, the girl who reaches out to Alan both tenderly and sexually. She seems “there” in every respect, fundamentally tuned to the role. James Rice brings a coiled repressiveness mingled with hardened pride to Alan’s father, which also makes for a strong portrayal.

E. Scott Shaffer’s austere scenery incorporates an opening slide show that helps describe the ineffable violence of Alan’s act. Costume designer Laura E. Deremer’s evocation of the horses (actors wear cage-like headpieces in equine shapes) is artful. And Justus Matthews’ sound design adds a layer of drama without being intrusive or melodramatic.

‘Equus’

A Rancho Santiago College Professional Actors Conservatory production of Peter Shaffer’s drama. Directed by Fareed Al-Oboudi. With Aled Davies, Kathleen Talafus, Consuelo Aduviso, Daniel Trippett, James Rice, Glynna Goff, Mark Moyer, Ron Graham, Stacey Cornell, Mark Drake, Terrance Elton, Max Mastrangelo, William Mengle, Shawn Tolleson, Jeff King and Geoff Osberg. Sets by E. Scott Shaffer. Costumes by Laura E. Deremer. Sound by Justus Matthews. Makeup by Gary Christensen. Plays Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the campus’s Phillips Hall Theatre, 17th and Bristol streets. Tickets: $6 and $8. (714) 564-5661.