Review: HYSTERIA Combines History, Imagination, Freud And Dali For A Farcical Fantasy With Weighty Undertones

Tuesday 4th April 2017, 7:30pm Eternity Playhouse Darlinghurst

Terry Johnson (playwright) brings Sigmund Freud (Jo Turner) and Salvador Dali(Michael McStay) together in HYSTERIA for a bizarre and baffling evening of comedy, confusion and conscience. Straddling truth and fiction, this work draws on the real life and work of the Father of Psychoanalysis, the famous Surrealist artist, Jewish writer Abraham Yahuda (Wendy Strehlow) and an intriguing stranger to imagine Freud's life less than a year before his death.

The premise of Johnson's play, which premiered in London in 1993, is that whilst in exile in London, Freud apparently finds himself in a curious farce where an unusual young woman, Jessica (Miranda Daughtry) wants him to revisit a case, an oddly feminine Abraham Yahuda is his doctor and friend and the eccentric Dali, a devotee, pays a visit. As he contemplates his own theories and the implications they had in apportioning responsibility in relationships and trauma, Freud is seen being tormented by his own dark secrets of his own relationships, the knowledge that his left his sisters in Austria when the Nazi regime was targeting Jews, and the lingering question of whether his work was actually scientific and valid.

Director Susanna Dowling has given the work a sense of normalcy whilst alluding to the off kilter. Freud is presented as both frail and sprightly. Wendy Strehlow is cast as Abraham Yahuda, presenting the male Jewish writer as a doctor in a 'pants' role. The eccentric Dali is presented as flamboyant but with fluctuating self-esteem, desperate for approval from the man he idolises. The mysterious Jessica is presented as bouncing between calm and erratic. Dowling's theme of duality is continued with Anna Gardiner's production design of a monochrome home office with unusual walls, adorned with books and the multitude of artefacts Freud saved as he fled Austria. While much of Freud's mental challenges are played out by the quartet of performers, it is supported by Julian Tynan's cinematography and Daniel Barber's lighting which helps set the mood and increase the intrigue and magnitude of emotion.

This work is intriguing and at whilst at first it appears that Turner slips from the image of the frail old man suffering from severe cancer of the jaw, as the mystery unfolds, his moments of levity and youthfulness make sense. In the moments where Turner captures the 82 year old with his cantankerous outlook that is sick of people treating him like a curio, wanting to visit like an Madame Tussaud exhibit, he conveys as gravity in the knowledge that people still value his analysis whilst exhibiting the subtle mannerisms that confirm his pain. When Freud slips into a more farcical expression Turner has a delightful physicality whilst exhibiting an element of confusion at the crazy events that are taking place.

Strehlow presents Yahuda with a degree of neutrality, being neither feminine or masculine aside from the suit and moustache which adds to the initial impression of a bizarre world. Dowling has potentially chosen Strehlow to tie to Freud's philosophies on maternal figures as Yahuda is presented as his doctor but also concerned with his philosophy, wishing to prevent him from releasing a controversial paper. Strehlow presents Yahuda's level of care and concern with a degree of no nonsense efficiency but also a compassion. She also captures the doctor's more equal position to Freud, being a friend and colleague, in contrast to Dali's wide eyed adoration.

As Dali, McStay captures the Spaniard's quirks and eccentricities as he presents the impulsive artist that is perpetually compelled to capture the images that unfold before him. He presents Dali has having a complexity that ranges from a formality and restraint to a bold confidence and lack of inhibition that is expressed in his physicality and his tone and speech patterns.

The standout performance comes from Daughtry as the mysterious young woman, Jessica. Daughtry captures the young woman's changing tactics with seemingly sudden impulsiveness but as the evening progresses her quick thinking calculated determination is gradually exposed, increasing the understanding of the weight of her concerns. Jessica's earnestness to have Freud rethink the impact of his determinations is compelling and heartbreaking when she forces Freud and the audience to consider the idea that he changed his diagnoses of 'hysterical' women to blame the women, protecting the upper-class men who had perpetuated the crimes against the innocent.

HYSTERIA is an intriguing work that deals with some quite topical subjects, particularly in the light of the investigations into childhood abuse that are playing out in Australia. The balance of comedy and serious moments is possibly a little too extreme, with even the characters commenting on the sudden shift in tone. An interesting work that apparent trend of farcical comedy that has made a resurgence.

HYSTERIA

Eternity Playhouse, Darlinghurst

31 March - 30 April 2017

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