By Marilyn Jozwik
Acacia Theatre Company’s “Freud’s Last Session” by Mark St. Germain is a spellbinding peek into the psyches of two brilliant minds, Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis.
In this fictional scenario – the two never really met – Acacia sets out to present how two individuals with polar opposite views on the existence of God, life’s meaning and other topics can discuss their ideas with civility and respect.
Freud, the famous psychoanalyst whose mother was Catholic and father was an Orthodox Jew, was an atheist. Lewis, a literary scholar whose father was a pastor, was an atheist who later converted to Christianity, embracing its beliefs to became one of the greatest Christian thinkers of his time.
These are two riveting performances by David Sapiro as Freud and Jason Will as Lewis. Elaine Wyler directs. The intimate space at St. Christopher’s Church has the audience nearly seated in the London study of Freud, filled with books, ancient artifacts and a desk full of papers and cigar paraphernalia with rich burgundy background. Of course, there is a psychoanalytic couch, which each character at some point utilizes. Add subdued lighting, and I was so mesmerized and comfortable with the experience I almost felt I could contribute to their conversation.
Sigmund Freud (David Sapiro) describes the contents of a jar held by C.S. Lewis (Jason Will) in a scene from Acacia Theatre Company’s “Freud’s Last Session.” Photos by Melinda Rhodebeck
The show runs a little over an hour and is dense with thought-provoking dialogue, delivered with conviction and realism, as the two characters match wits. The year is 1939 and London is under attack from Nazi Germany, which Freud fled. “When I looked out my window, I only saw Nazis burning my books,” he says of his home in Germany. Freud tunes in his radio periodically for updates. At one point a siren sounds and each scholar reaches for a gas mask, prompting a discussion of death.
Freud, who died that year, had endured 33 surgeries for oral cancer, the result of smoking and cocaine use. In the show, Sapiro is most convincing as the elderly Freud. Slightly stooped and speaking with authority, yet frail, Sapiro’s Freud gets especially animated at various points, such as when he rails about the tragic deaths of his daughter at age 27 and grandson at age 5 in the context of religion.
As Lewis, Will assumes a credible British accent as he partakes in the verbal competition with Freud. Like two prize fighters, they land punches, dodge others, but always stand strong in the ring. Interspersed in the conversation are bits of their backgrounds, such as how they felt about their fathers and their current families. Writer St. Germain expertly weaves in these details with the volleys of thoughts on religion, morality, enemies and other topics organically interspersed so the script never sounds like a lecture. “We cannot survive without enemies. They are as necessary as air,” says Freud.
C.S. Lewis (Jason Will) pleads his case to Sigmund Freud (David Sapiro) in a scene from Acacia Theater Company’s “Freud’s Last Session.” Photos by Melinda Rhodebeck
The show requires total engagement as there are so many nuggets, such as when Lewis says, “My idea of God is constantly changing. He is everywhere incognito.” He chides Freud for being a non-believer who spent so much time trying to disprove the existence of God. Freud maintains that the existence of God can’t be proved historically, while Lewis counters, “His death transferred myth into truth.”
St. Germain’s work, which was suggested by “The Question of God” by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi Jr., is the sort of discourse that is so needed in a world where different viewpoints can’t seem to come together without losing all semblance of civility. It is also theater that prompts audience members to want to learn more about these two important figures and their ideas.
If you go:
Who: Acacia Theatre Company
What: “Freud’s Last Session”
When: Through Nov. 9
Where: St. Christopher's Church, 7845 North River Road, River Hills
Info/Tickets: (414) 744-5995; office@acaciatheatre.com