Photo courtesy of Acacia Theatre Company
Lewis & Freud - Acacia Theatre Company
Jason Will as C.S. Lewis and David Sapiro as Sigmund Freud in Acacia Theatre Company's 'Freud's Last Session'
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) remain two of the most familiar names from the intellectual life of the last century. Freud shined a flashlight into the unconscious and saw sex and repression. Lewis wrote the beloved Narnia stories and science fiction. Freud believed that God was a projection of human insecurity, a make-believe father figure. Lewis was an unapologetic Christian apologist. They never met, but if they had, their encounter might have been similar to Mark St. Germain’s 2010 play Freud’s Last Session.
Acacia Theatre’s season opener, Freud’s Last Session, marks the second time the Milwaukee company has performed the Off-Broadway hit. Acacia’s artistic director, Janet Peterson, recalls that their 2025 production “was tremendously successful—we sold out all of the performances and added a weekend to the run—and I believe largely due to the strength of script and performances. As I was thinking about this season's theme of Truth, I wanted to do the show again. I think it is an incredibly even-handed script.”
David Sapiro returns as Freud, the role he played 10 years ago. This time, Jason Will costars as Lewis. “I have a longstanding working relationship with both of the actors. They understand each other and are able to work on the same plane easily. They are tremendously talented people,” says Freud’s director Elaine Wyler.
Photo courtesy Acacia Theatre Company
Freud & Lewis - Acacia Theatre Company
David Sapiro as Sigmund Freud and Jason Will as C.S. Lewis in Acacia Theatre Company's 'Freud's Last Session'
The play is set on an afternoon in September 1939 in the opening hours of World War II. Freud had just resettled in London, having fled his hometown, Vienna, after it fell to the Nazis the year before. He had just published his critique of religion, Moses and Monotheism, and was dying from cancer. The much younger Lewis, an Oxford don, had authored The Pilgrim’s Regress, an account of his return to Christianity after years of atheism. Freud invites Lewis to home to discuss how such an intelligent man could believe in God.
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What follows is a fast-moving debate on an eternal topic with digressions into music, parents and the threat of Hitler. Freud and Lewis work to maintain composure, even good humor. In 2025, does the conversation in the play send a message that people of widely contrasting, even conflicting worldviews are able to discuss their ideas without rancor?
Peterson and Wyler sent a joint reply to the question: “Yes, we believe so. Although nothing is tied up neatly, Freud and Lewis have measured—although sometimes intense—discussion. But no one throws jabs at the other or runs from the room. They debate the philosophies which frame their core beliefs (atheism, Christianity), but they’re not offended by or disappointed in each other. They’re stubborn about what’s important to them and acknowledge the same in the other. And they depart shaking hands, with things to think about.”
Acacia Theatre will perform Freud’s Last Session October 24-November 9 at Norvell Commons at St. Christopher's Church 7845 N. River Road, River Hills. For tickets and more information, visit https://www.acaciatheatre.com/
