Freud’s Last Session

Freud’s Last Session
By Mark St Germain. Director: Adam Cook. Strange Duck Productions. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, Brisbane. 26 Nov – 7 Dec 2014

When one of the world’s most infamous atheists meets a Christianity convert the scene is set for a powerful meeting of the minds. When the atheist is the father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud and the Christian convert is Oxford Professor C.J. Lewis then the notches on the intellectual debate rise dramatically.

In Freud’s Last Session Mark St Germain imagines a meeting of the two distinguished voices in Freud’s London study on the day England enters World War ll. The 83 year old Freud is dying of an inoperable cancer, whilst Lewis at 41 is on the cusp of a brilliant writing career which will see him produce the classic Chonicles of Narnia. For 70-minutes they verbally spar on God, Hitler, war, love, sex and the meaning of life, with occasional interruptions of BBC radio broadcasts, air-raid sirens, and bombers flying overhead to add some drama.

Despite the fact that there is no inherent conflict in the play, it’s a totally engrossing evening thanks to some finely attuned performances by William Zappa and Andrew Henry, and straight-forward direction by Adam Cook. Zappa is a curmudgeonly but likeable Freud, unswerving in his opinions and beliefs, and adept at delivering the script’s sharp and funny lines. I’ve rarely seen him give a better performance. As his adversary Lewis, the younger-looking Henry jousts like a verbal veteran and brings warmth and tenderness to the character.

Half the battle of immersing the audience in Germain’s play is achieved by the brilliantly detailed set-design by Mark Thompson. On full-view when you enter the theatre, you are immediately transported back to the World War II period which is further enhanced by Thompson’s appropriate costumes, especially the tan tweed-suit on Lewis, and the lighting design by Gavan Swift and sound effects by Frank Harlow.

Freud’s Last Session is a play of ideas and fortunately at 70 minutes doesn’t wear out its welcome. Like the subject of faith, which is on the table many times during the evening, fledgling producer Adam Liberman had tons of it when he decided to mount this play for local audiences. Let’s hope his faith pays off with full-houses. It deserves it.

Peter Pinne   

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