Tuesday, May 26, 2015

freud's last session | responses


"Ron Reed [gives a] bravura performance as Freud... Reed gives Freud some lovely twists and turns." • Jerry Wasserman, Vancouver Plays

"“Freud’s Last Session,” was stellar. Great acting, set, and music. Very moving. As do all the plays we see at Pacific Theatre, this one caused lots of discussion in our family, afterwards. Still thinking about it. And I love that Pacific Theatre makes me think." • R. Rich, Audience Comment

"Freud’s Last Stand was packed with suspense, wit, angst, passion and every other emotion under the rainbow. Ron Reed was amazing (as he always is) and the other man who played CS Lewis was equally as stellar in his role. I would recommend the play to anyone who enjoys superior theater productions. Pacific Theater continues to be one of those hidden little niches of excellent theater in Vancouver and if you haven’t seen their productions, you are missing out!" • Anita Thompson, Audience Comment

"My wife and I attended "Freud's Last Session" at Pacific Theatre in Vancouver on Saturday (May 2) and was, once again, overtaken by how masterful they are at selecting and producing live stage performances that can simultaneously entertain, educate and provoke one to ponder those deeper questions of life. ... Whether you are a skeptic, an agnostic or a fervent atheist (as was Freud and are other prominent individuals today) or are a Christian believer (as was C. S. Lewis and are many others today) you will find that this play will prod your foundational belief structures and stretch your mind into avenues of contemplation which may be foreign, or even frightening, for you... I am certain of two things: the actors (Evan Frayne and Ron Reed) give you a remarkable insight into the minds of both of these figures and you will not leave the theatre unchallenged." • Bob Quicke, Audience Response

"This Pacific Theatre production, under the direction of Morris Ertman, is intelligent, thought provoking and splendid in every respect – one of the best I’ve seen on this stage... Reed is absolutely outstanding in the role: slightly stooped, his clothes hanging a little loosely, fingers sometimes twitching, Reed is believably eighty-three and so believably in pain it’s gut-wrenching to watch... Evan Frayne, as Lewis, is in every respect equal to Reed’s Freud. As the younger, Oxford and Cambridge scholar who shows little humour (except for his laughter on the subject of flatulence) and even less humility, Frayne turns the moment of Freud’s paralysing attack of bone-wracking pain into one of such compassion, that it might bring tears to your eyes." • Jo Ledingham

"Who would have thought that a 65 minute play about an imagined conversation between Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis could be as spell-binding as I found this show to be? I was enthralled." • Gillian Lockitch, Review from the House


"The acting in this production is strong. Evan Frayne makes an earnest Lewis, and Ron Reed a thoughtful, vulnerable Freud." • Colin Thomas, The Georgia Straight

"Pacific Theatre Artistic Director Ron Reed is once again transformed as the seemingly resolute Freud, finding the lows, the highs, and the humour of this intellectual man. Evan Frayne is sweetly openhearted and devout as the young writer." • David C. Jones, Vancouver Presents

"I love Freud and CS Lewis and this play does them both a great service. The set was surreal. The action unbelievably great. The writing was superb. This 'discussion' between giants was something I studied as I learned psychoanalysis a quarter century ago and it goes on today." • William Hay, Facebook Response

"Mark St. Germain doesn’t offer a definitive answer to divinity, or any conclusion to the existence of a hereafter. What the playwright does provide is excellent theatre." • John Jane, Review Vancouver

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