On the Hoof

  The 21st century is already witnessing a notable change in the way we use horses as our society changes and patriarchy gives way to new forms of families, social bonds and institutions. We are living in a time of radical transition, and we have the opportunity to participate in the invention of what is to come. I have a dream which is part of a new way of being with horses which I believe to be valuable, sustainable and ethical.  A first step to realising the dream is taking shape: to take two horses to the Bethlem Royal psychiatric hospital, where occupational therapists and some of their patients will be waiting to greet us. In a simple, sheltered space that is close to a walled garden and bordered by hedges and trees, we will bring them something real – the power of equines to reignite the trust, consent and cohesion that is foundational to a new social bond. Equine facilitated psychotherapy uses the structure of the psychoanalytic discourse which allows us to hold humans...

  Where nothing happens, twice – this phrase was coined by Vivian Mercier in the Irish Times , 18 February 1956, when he reviewed Samuel Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot . The characters Estragon, Vladimir, Pozzo and Lucky have been reenacting these two moments of nothing in countless repetitions since Beckett finished writing them in January 1949. The truly astonishing power of the play led San Francisco Actors' Workshop director Herbert Blau to take it to the San Quentin prison in November 1957. The idea that the play (in which nothing happens twice) could be transformative had now crossed the Atlantic. Rick Cluchey, an inmate at the prison, was serving a life sentence when he heard it being performed over the loudspeaker system. The experience had such an effect on him that he went on to form a drama group with other inmates to stage the play. He eventually won a chance for parole and met Beckett. He continued this friendship and pursued a life anew in the arts. The story ...