Hysteria - Play Review

On Sunday afternoon (aka the Blue-Haired Show), I went to see a play called HYSTERIA at the Aurora Theater, which is right next to Berkeley Rep. It was hilarious!

SYNOPSIS
Set in 1938, in the study of the aged and dying Sigmund Freud, in his Hampstead home in London, the peace of a wintry night is disturbed by an unexpected visitor. This is Jessica, a young woman who has a complex emotional problem to resolve. Upon further exploration it soon becomes apparent that Jessica is the daughter of a former patient of Freud’s. Freud is reluctant to engage in discussion with Jessica but she is persistent. As the action progresses, the suburban calm is further ruffled as a further two visitors appear. First is Abraham Yahuda, close but critical colleague and friend of Freud, and then the Spanish maestro of surrealism, Dali himself. In an attempt to take control of the situation and manage the meeting of the three very different visitors Freud becomes embroiled in the most ridiculous farce.

From then on nothing is what it seems. The clock on the wall seems to melt, the telephone turns into a lobster, files and manuscripts mysteriously change places, and Dalí begins to pursue the young Jessica with blatant advances. As the play unfolds, the audience is subjected to dark and disturbing stories, juxtaposed with hysterically funny mishaps and revelations that beg the questions ‘is this real, or the product of Freud’s unconscious mind?’ ‘Is Freud, dead or alive?’

WHAT I'LL STEAL LEARN TO USE
- this play used a bookend structure - it begins and ends with the same scene. Using this device made me question whether if Sigmund Freud was already dead or just about to die in his search to uncover the mystery of Jessica's Mother's death.
- In his final moments of life he continues to "cure" himself of his fears and questions his prior work if they indeed meant something.
- There was a clock UR on a back wall. Between Acts I and II, the lights faded on stage except a special on the clock, which forced the audience to see the clock's hands fast forward.
- Jessica starts to read from her mother's journal entry about her mother's session with Dr. Freud. She has committed it to memory whilst Dali read's Dr. Freud's part. While reciting, she becomes her mother in that moment as she describes horrendous acts by her father.
- In reciting this story, she uses ACTIONS of 1) constantly wiping her right shoulder while keeping her 3 middle fingers togther and 2) constantly gagging because of the saltiness she tasted in her mouth used in the beginning of the play. Also, these two ACTIONS were used to describe 2 different stories, first as a guise, second as the truth.
- Farce was used amazingly. I haven't seen a good farce since NOISES OFF at CSUS. a lot of switched identities, slamming doors, and absurd images abound!
- I guess that there's no limits to special effects: 1) the walls melted 2) clock melted 3) lobster phone 4) train smoke and lights at the door 5) rubbery door knobs...