''Hysteria: Or Fragments of an Analysis of an Obsessional Neurosis'' is a two-hour comedy play, by British dramatist Terry Johnson, fictionalising a real-life 1938 meeting between

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...

and

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...

a year before the latter's death. It is named after the Freudian psychological term " hysteria". Freud and Dali meet for tea at Freud's house in Hampstead one summer's afternoon in 1938. The play combines that meeting with the arrival of the mysterious Jessica, who brings serious charges against Freud relating to his treatment of her mother and his theory of presexual shock. In the last months of his illness, the exhausted Freud, trying to put his affairs in order, soon finds himself up to his neck explaining both his life's work and the female undergarments in his garden.

Performance history

The play's London premiere, on 1 August 1993 at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

, was directed by

Phyllida Lloyd Phyllida Christian Lloyd, (born 17 June 1957) is an English film director and producer, best known for ''Mamma Mia!'' (2008) and '' The Iron Lady'' (2011). Her theatre work includes directing productions at the Royal Court Theatre and Royal Na ...

, with

Henry Goodman Henry Goodman (born 23 April 1950) is a RADA trained British actor. He has appeared on television and radio, in film and in the theatre. Early life He attended the Central Foundation Boys' School and joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, L ...

as Freud,

Tim Potter Tim Potter is an English actor in theatre, films and TV since the 1980s. Career Potter's stage work includes playing the role of Salvador Dalí in the original production of Terry Johnson's ''Hysteria'' at the Royal Court in 1993, and Charles I ...

as Dali,

Phoebe Nicholls Phoebe Sarah Nicholls (born 1957) is an English film, television, and stage actress. She is known for her roles as Cordelia Flyte in '' Brideshead Revisited'' and as the mother of John Merrick in '' The Elephant Man''. Personal life Nicholls ...

as Jessica and

David de Keyser David de Keyser (22 August 1927 – 20 February 2021) was an English actor and narrator. Life and career Born in London in August 1927, in the mid-sixties de Keyser worked twice with the writer, actor and director Jane Arden. Their first coll ...

as Yahuda. Beryl Bainbridge wrote in her 2005 book ''Front Row: Evenings at the Theatre'': "there's an awful lot going on in this stunning play, and the actors -

and

- all give massively intelligent performances". This production was revived in 1995, as part of the 'Royal Court Classics' season at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

, with

Aisling O'Sullivan Aisling O'Sullivan (born in Tralee, County Kerry) is an Irish actress. Career O'Sullivan attended the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and joined the Abbey Theatre in 1991. Theatre In 2011 and 2012, she toured Ireland with Druid, playing the ...

as Jessica and Fred Pearson as Yahuda. ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' said of the production: "This is an utterly hilarious and brilliant show and I do mean brilliant. It sparkles, it shines, and it lights up the mind". In a 2007 production at the

Birmingham Rep Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

, Sean Foley appeared as Freud,

Sam Swainsbury Sam Swainsbury is an English actor, known for his roles as Jason in the BBC sitcom '' Mum'' and the Stonehenge TV reporter in '' Thor: The Dark World''. Career In 2013, Swainsbury featured on the film '' Thor: The Dark World'', he played a Stoneh ...

as Dalí, Ruth Miller as Jessica, and John Burgess as Yahuda. In the 2012 production at the

Theatre Royal, Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audien ...

(directed by the author),

Antony Sher Sir Antony Sher (14 June 1949 – 2 December 2021) was a British actor, writer and theatre director of South African origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a four-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982 a ...

appeared as Freud, Will Keen as Dalí,

Indira Varma Indira Anne Varma (born 27 September 1973) is a British actress and narrator. Her film debut and first major role was in '' Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love''. She has gone on to appear in the television series ''The Canterbury Tales'', ''Rome'', ''L ...

as Jessica, and David Horovitch as Yahuda. Sher and Horovitch revived their roles from 5 September to 12 October 2013 at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

, with

Adrian Schiller Adrian Schiller (born 21 February 1964) is an English actor. Selected filmography *''The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other'' (2008, theatre performance) *''Terry Pratchett's Going Postal'' (2010) (cast as the Banshee, Mr Gryle) *'' Being Hum ...

as Dalí and

Lydia Wilson Lydia Wilson (born 30 November 1984) is an English-American actress. Since graduating in 2009 from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she has performed in numerous television and theatre productions including the Olivier Award winning ''Blasted'' ...

as Jessica. Charles Spencer, writing in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', said: "Twenty years on it strikes me as a modern classic... Johnson directs his own wildly imaginative but also scrupulously researched play with panache, achieving a farcical comic momentum that somehow finds space for moments of both deep emotion and intellectual rigour...the cast is outstanding."

Performance history

References

Further reading