Writer: Alex Rawnsley
Director: Harriet Gill
Musical Director: Isobel Connolly
The central idea of this show is great – imagine Freud coming back to life and giving a series of lectures on psychoanalysis to a female student who has just fallen in love with another girl she’s seen in the library. And better still, Freud seems to have embraced his inner burlesque artist. Beneath his tweedy upper half, he’s all black tights and heels. It’s bonkers, but fun.
There are two brilliant performances. Lara Bulloch is excellent as a white-whiskered Freud, announcing each new theory with a blast on a kazoo, then picking up a cane to do some nimble cabaret dance. Best of all is Bethan Draycott as Fran, the lovelorn student. Draycott is born to play musical theatre, with a superb voice and compelling stage presence. The music, directed by Isobel Connolly, is powerful and inventive and there are some great numbers, particularly those sung by Draycott and Bulloch. There is good support too from Anna Mae Zhao, who plays Anna, Fran’s love interest.
The energy and enthusiasm of the performers, however, don’t quite make up for the fact that the heavy intellectual superstructure of Freudian theory, albeit Freud-lite, doesn’t sit well atop the rather flimsy story of some Oxford flatmates – Fran’s flatmates, three young women, Xylia, Mia and Grace plus the inevitable gay best friend, Charlie. They are given knowing dialogue about sex at the start, but tend to come across as youthful innocents.
This naivety is only reinforced when they plan a party. As far as we can see, they are unable to rustle up any other guests. The dramatic purpose of the party is for Fran to introduce Anna to them. The shy development of their relationship has been sweet, but there’s only so much interest for the audience in earnest chat about medieval popes and the workings of antibiotics – Anna is studying history and Fran is a medical student.
In an interview, the show’s writer Alex Rawnsley talks about having had to cut down the show’s running time from its original 110 minutes to its current 90. But in truth, however great the songs are, some more cutting would help with dramatic tension. The question of whether Fran and Anna will ever get it on can only be protracted so far.
Runs until 24 August 2024
Camden Fringe runs until 25 August 2024
