Freud’s Last Session

Last night we went to the theater to see a play called “Freud’s Last Session”. It turned out to be a studio theater, which is my favorite kind of theater in the world. In a studio theater, spectators sit huddled together in a small room and the stage is very close to them. We sat in the first row, and that meant we were practically on the stage.

This performance cost what five visits to a movie theater would cost but, unlike Hollywood movies, theater is art. It is very refreshing to see that there is still good acting on this continent.

The play was based on an encounter between Freud and one of the founders of literary studies, C. S. Lewis, in the last days of Freud’s life. In the photo, you can see what Freud’s study in the play was like.

Of course, Freud’s ideas were heavily diluted for general public but the play was still great. In the play, Freud and Lewis argue about religion. The audience in our St. Louis theater warmed up more to Lewis’s gushy and unconvincing preaching than to Freud’s defense of science and reason. That was to be expected, though.

We were so close to the actors that watching the play was a very intense experience. When Freud told of his mourning of his grandson who died in infancy, I cried. I hope it didn’t scare the actors.