Play examines questions of faith and suffering
OTTAWA, ON—Amid the breaking news of Hitler's invasion of Poland, Sigmund Freud walks into his London office. Suffering from oral cancer, and near the end of his life, he is waiting for the arrival of C.S. Lewis. The stage is set.
Freud's Last Session is a fictional play that seeks to provoke discussion about life's great questions. The 9th Hour Theatre Company is touring the production throughout Ottawa and Eastern Ontario from early May through November.
"Freud and Lewis are two of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century," says Jonathan Harris, who plays Lewis. "[The play] is real life, depicted through real men and their actual belief systems. There are difficult questions in life: the existence and nature of God, why is there pain, suffering and evil? These questions are worthy of discussion."
The script, written by Mark St. Germain, includes numerous verbatim quotes from the writings of Freud and Lewis. They discuss suffering, joy, faith and sex while anxiously awaiting news about the unfolding start of the Second World War.
"The play is fictional, but stirring and realistic," says Harris. "If they had met, it would have been in London, right before the war. It is a setting that enables these discussions to flow naturally."
With jokes about flatulence and terrified reactions to air-raid sirens, Harris sees beauty in the commonality shared by men with such powerfully contrasting views.
"There are no easy answers," he says. "We want to create dialogue about matters of faith. At the end of the play, Lewis states, 'It was madness to think we could solve the greatest mysteries of all time in one evening.' Freud responds, 'it would be greater madness not to think of it at all.' It teaches us that we can't demonize the other, we have to learn to respect their views."
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