Freud and Lewis Walk into a Theater…

Antrim Playhouse is closing out their inaugural season with Mark St. Germain’s play Freud’s Last Session, directed by Michael Edan. This play is a steam train flying down the tracks over the course of 80 minutes, no intermission. The piece takes place within the confines of Dr. Sigmund Freud’s London home as Freud and a young C.S. Lewis debate love, life, and the existence of God. The conversation is under the heavy umbrella of an impending World War II and mere weeks before the famous psychoanalyst took his own life. 

It is no easy feat to undertake the portrayal of two of history’s most famous figures, but this two person cast performs the task with ease. 

Never before have I thought of Freud as anything else but a cigar smoking old man (which, don’t worry, the cigar makes multiple appearances) weirdly obsessed with sex, but John Klemek breathes a depth and life into Freud that turns my surface level knowledge on its head. I was reminded more of my own beloved college professors, concerned with truth and humanity who laughed deeply and argued passionately rather than the snapshot of a stiff, angry psychoanalyst that I held in my mind. 

A similar snapshot lived in my head for C. S Lewis. He existed as merely the hand behind The Chronicles of Narnia series, nothing more. Brian Petti provides an 80 minute portrayal of a man who has experienced more than his fair share of the strains of life and who has an ardent love for his Creator. While it would be very easy to slip into preachiness as he references Christianity and the Bible, Petti performs Lewis’ understanding of faith as one deeply rooted in personal growth and connection to others. 

Both Klemek and Petti display moments of unexpected tenderness between the two men, both of whom are shouldering demons of their own. The conversation never devolves into a full blown fight, which is powerful considering these kinds of conversations easily do (I’m looking at you, Thanksgiving dinner tables). Both men maintain a respect for each other even as they continue to grow more frustrated as they feel the other refuses to understand how they see the world.

The two actors manage to maintain a relaxed relationship on the stage together. This is no easy feat when the play takes place in the round and relies almost solely on the spoken word. For those unfamiliar with the term in the round, it is a theatrical term for a staging decision where audience members sit on every side of the stage. There is no place to hide, no stepping off stage, no time to catch your breath without at least one audience member drinking in your every move. Through Edan’s direction, Klemek and Petti are able to produce my personal favorite type of theater. When I can leave a theater feeling like I took a secret look into a conversation I was never meant to hear, then I am satisfied. I can confidently say that I was satisfied. 

While I maintain my own feelings about faith, life and love, I enjoyed how I never felt entirely on one side or the other during their discussion. Both men make compelling and honest stands from their side of the fence. What would have killed the show would have been the feeling of being told one man is wrong and the other is right., but thanks to the writing of St. Germain audiences are never given a clear answer as to which train of thought they should follow. They are presented with opinions, feelings and facts and encouraged to go out into the world with them. 

Learn more and book your tickets for Freud’s Last Session at antrimplayhouse.com or by calling 845-533-5616.