"Freud's Last Session"

Imagine you are invited to eavesdrop on a meeting between two intellectual giants. What would atheist Sigmund Freud and writer C.S. Lewis have discussed? C.S. Lewis, “The Chronicles of Narnia,” was an atheist until he had an epiphany and embraced Christianity. Although Freud's log indicated a visit to his London office in 1939 from an Oxford professor whose name was not listed, history does not record that the two ever met. In a common literary and theatrical device, the two figures meet In “Freud’s Last Session,” now in its second year.

The play is set in London on the day that England entered World War II, two weeks before Freud committed suicide. Freud was suffering from mouth cancer and was in a lot of pain. The premise of the play is Freud’s invitation to Lewis to pay him a visit. The young man, he’s 41 to Freud’s 83, expects to get chastised for the unflattering description he wrote of Freud. Instead, the two spar about the existence of God, sex, love and the meaning of life.

During the matinee I attended, Tuck Milligram was standing in for the regular performer, Martin Rayner. As the aging and ailing Freud, Milligram is convincing in his suffering. Despite the white hair and stooped over walk, he didn’t seem to be an octogenarian. His face was unwrinkled and his movements too youthful. After Freud suffers an attack and lies down on his couch, Milligram recovered too quickly and jumped up too energetically to take a phone call. Mark. H. Dold plays Lewis, often deferential to the Freud’s age and stature. He handles the light sarcasm and repartee well. However, both actors occasionally slipped out of their accents.

In the close intimacy of the New World Stages theater, where the show has officially reopened, “Freud’s Last Session” has a very niche audience appeal. Undoubtedly, it attracts psychology students as well as theologians. Fans of C.S. Lewis literature might find some appeal as well.

Although the play is well written and thought provoking, it has an extremely limited focus. Basically, the two men have a philosophical and theological tug of war as they debate the existence of God. Freud is understandably concerned about the Nazi advances, having fled from Germany with his wife and family.