Details

London, 1939. Sigmund Freud, one of the greatest names of the 20th century and the father of psychoanalysis, spends his dying days in Hampstead - in exile from Hitler's Europe. An unexpected visitor in the night throws the certainties of a life's work into doubt and blurs the borders between dreams and reality. When things cannot get any stranger, they do. Why has his Doctor found women's undergarments on the lawn? Is there a naked woman in the house? Was Salvador Dali chasing a swan round the garden? Is he barking mad? Or has everything just degenerated into farce? Contains scenes of an adult nature.

Cast/Performers

Peter Brown, Janet Gill, Glenn Johnson, Alaric Law

Creatives/Company

Author: Terry Johnson
Company: Theatre Proteus
Director: Maggie Lilley

Hysteria

Hysteria (Play) production archive for QTIX code T1726743740. Details of all Hysteria archived productions can be found under the QTIX code: S3651

Archive Listings

17 Jan 01
to
20 Jan 01

Rhoda McGaw Theatre
Woking, Surrey
Performance Details => Venue archive

Reviews

UK Theatre Web: 07Feb01:
Hysteria rather than hysterical accurately sums up Terry Johnson's outrageously bizarre farce which was performed by Theatre Proteus at the Rhoda McGaw last week. Maggie Lilley and her team of talented actors should definitely be applauded for admirably tackling such a complex and disturbing subject with such passion and authenticity. Alaric Law was excellent as Sigmund Freud the eccentric doctor, maintaining his European accent and utterly believable as the outlandish scientist suffering deteriorating health, who was having difficulties confronting his own questionable past. The delirious Jessica (Janet Gill) is determined to find out why her mother committed suicide and the two are an excellent duo, with Freud stubborn and cantankerous and Jessica obsessed, hysterical, and incredibly unpredictable. Janet had an emotionally draining role and never lost her intensity, battling tirelessly with an unwavering concentration, which left the audience exhausted just watching. The play centres on the disturbing subject of child abuse and is quite shocking at times. One might question why Johnson would want to build a farce around such a subject. Hysteria was well acted by Theatre Proteus proving again that this is a company at the cutting edge of challenging ideas. (Lisa Porter, Woking News and Mail, 25/1/01)

User Reviews

USER: UK Theatre Web (07Feb01): Hysteria rather than hysterical accurately sums up Terry Johnson's outrageously bizarre farce which was performed by Theatre Proteus at the Rhoda McGaw last week. Maggie Lilley and her team of talented actors should definitely be applauded for admirably tackling such a complex and disturbing subject with such passion and authenticity. Alaric Law was excellent as Sigmund Freud the eccentric doctor, maintaining his European accent and utterly believable as the outlandish scientist suffering deteriorating health, who was having difficulties confronting his own questionable past. The delirious Jessica (Janet Gill) is determined to find out why her mother committed suicide and the two are an excellent duo, with Freud stubborn and cantankerous and Jessica obsessed, hysterical, and incredibly unpredictable. Janet had an emotionally draining role and never lost her intensity, battling tirelessly with an unwavering concentration, which left the audience exhausted just watching. The play centres on the disturbing subject of child abuse and is quite shocking at times. One might question why Johnson would want to build a farce around such a subject. Hysteria was well acted by Theatre Proteus proving again that this is a company at the cutting edge of challenging ideas. (Lisa Porter, Woking News and Mail, 25/1/01)

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CORONAVIRUS: All venues in the UK were shut down on March 16, 2020, and the restrictions were finally lifted on July 19, 2021. It is important to mention that the UK Theatre Web archive listings (iUKTDb) from March 2020 to July 2021 might not be accurate due to the lack of information regarding rescheduled and cancelled shows.