About the work
“Die Traumdeutung von Sigmund Freud” (The Interpretation of Dreams) is a piece by the British-Irish theatre company Dead Centre, led by Bush Moukarzel and Ben Kidd, who are responsible for text and direction. It is based on Freud's book “The Interpretation of Dreams” (1900); the German translation of the performance text is by Anna Opel. The world premiere, a Burgtheater production, took place on 16 January 2020 at the Akademietheater in Vienna, with Alexandra Henkel, Philipp Hauß, Johannes Zirner and Tim Werths.
Plot
The evening begins with the dream of an audience member, who recounts it on stage and then puts on a beard to take over the role of the analyst; this part is recast every night. From the dream the performance moves to Freud's apartment and practice in Vienna's Berggasse around 1900 and strings together episodes from his life: the family with many children, cocaine among his circle of friends, antisemitism in Vienna under Mayor Lueger. In the end the evening arrives in the dreamer's childhood bedroom.
Cultural significance
Critics praised the loose, comic tone with borrowings from Monty Python and slapstick and the daring reliance on improvisation, though some found its approach to psychoanalysis superficial. The production has been in the Burgtheater repertoire for more than six years.