When you think about London, a few things might come to your mind. One thought really stands up: the West End! Being an actor is a dream of many in our wonderful city. Being an actor. Easy to say. Easy to dream about. So easy that you might even indulge in the thoughts of leaving your past, family, hometown and move far for a dream.
F**k Freud is an elegantly written everyday story of millions of now Londoners who had the courage, or the craziness, to move to another city and run after a dream. But F**k Freud explores the downside of this dream, the failures and the loneliness of a big city. It looks into those psychological loops that influence the entirety of one’s experience like the daily job one accepts to meet the ends every month, friends as well as significant others.
Lucio Veronesi (Leone), also writer of this intriguing play, makes a successful effort at sharing with the audience that feel of powerlessness in front of the closed doors of a difficult career. That, like a spiral will influence his relationship with his girlfriend Sarah (Siobhan Gallagher) and his friend Eddie (Robbie Fletcher-Hill) and takes the best of him most times.
Siobhan, Robbie, and Jason (Imlach) are excellent at playing the many different roles as well as making the stage alive. The live music by pianist Matteo Iacobini is a tasteful touch.
The story feels a little rushed towards the end but that might have been a wanted finale. Overcoming our own fears and let our hopes survive is a very personal business and people cope in different ways.
The dialogues are real and all the actors master the art of making you feel uncomfortable at the awkwardness of the life situations we live daily, might it be a job interview or a chat with a friend who is rushing away when you are just about to open up to them.
Leone is nevertheless still a privileged boy. Coming from a supposedly rich family, he can actually afford to live in London helped by his family: others might have different experiences, but the mental struggles are common, no matter what your background is. F**k Freud explores the difficulties of overcoming the fear of failure in that brief infinite moment between the jump and the landing!
It runs until 7 December
Review: Giuseppe Barone