There’s absolutely no way Hysteria can work. It’s part broad farce, part serious drama. It wants you to take a lisping Salvador Dali seriously and giggle at Sigmund Freud’s slapstick antics. There’s just no way. And yet, Terry Johnson’s masterfully written work in the ever-capable hands of Rep Stage does all those things and more. It completely immerses you in a world outside your own and leaves you pondering psychological, moral, and theatrical questions long after the final bow.
Johnson’s play is based on actual events—Freud lived in England during World War II after fleeing Nazi-occupied Austria; famed Surrealist painter Dali did come to see him there; Freud did have jaw cancer—but it goes beyond these basic details to create a work that is more meaningful than a historical recreation could be.
Hysteria opens with Freud (Jeff Baker) snoozing in a chair in his office. When he wakes he thinks he’s in the middle of a therapy session. Instead, it is the middle of the night and the terminally ill psychoanalyst is trying to get his affairs in order.
In the midst of his ruminations on mortality there is a knock on the door. A woman in a trench coat stands outside begging to speak to Freud. When he turns her away she threatens to slit her wrist with a razor, which is actually one of the least dramatic things Jessica (Marni Penning) does to get Freud to agree to work with her. During the course of the play she runs naked through his garden, hides naked in his bathroom, blackmails him, and pretends to have the exact symptoms of a former patient.
Complicating matters further is the presence of Freud’s physician, Dr. Yahuda (Conrad Feininger), who is upset by Freud’s latest—and likely final—work, which focuses on disproving the existence of God, and a visit from a young Dali (Bruce Nelson), wishing to pay homage to the very unenthusiastic patron saint of Surrealism.
There is much running around, swapping clothes, and slamming doors as Freud tries to keep his various unwanted guests from interacting. And then a not-so-funny thing happens: Jessica makes a revelation that puts all the clownishness to an end. No spoilers here, but it is a turning point in the play, leading Dali—decked in a suit on his top half and nothing but bright pink briefs below—to say, “Is serious now, yes? . . . I go put my pants on.”
From there Hysteria explores the nature of Freud’s work and its ramifications on his patients, the field of psychology, and even culture in general. And the play asks if Freud allowed his own biases to color his work in very damaging ways.
There is no shortage of praise to throw about. Baker plays the proud Freud as the flustered straight man, an unmoving villain, and a frail elderly patient. He does it all with aplomb, completely disappearing into the role. Local theater mainstay Nelson faces, perhaps, the hardest task in Dali. The painter was over the top in real life, and Nelson has to embody that without destroying the seriousness of the play's dramatic moments—a job made even more difficult by the ridiculous wig and equally outlandish, though accurate, mustache and accent. The fact that you're moved by Dali in a literally and figuratively touching moment with Jessica is a testament to how well Nelson handles the part.
Sandwiched between these two larger-than-life characters is Penning’s Jessica. She takes a bit longer to settle into her role than Baker and Nelson, appearing less at ease during Jessica’s wild and crazy early scenes than in the more dramatic ones that follow. But by the time Jessica becomes the voice of Freud’s former patients, she is riveting.
Holding all the madness and pathos together is director Steven Carpenter. He not only manages to make both the light and heavy moments feel true, but is able to make them feel cohesive. Lighting and scenic designers Dan Covey and Klyph Stanford, respectively, also merit praise for their stunning special effects.
Regardless of what you think of the id, ego, and superego, penis envy, Freudian slips, and the power of the subconscious mind, Rep Stage’s Hysteria will make you believe in the power of the theater.
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