BAFTA award-winning writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran are set to debut their new dark comedy Dr Freud Will See You Now, Mrs Hitler this autumn at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in London.
Running from Thursday 4th to Sunday 28th September 2025, the production reimagines a history in which Adolf Hitler visits Sigmund Freud for psychiatric treatment.
Directed by Isaac Bernier-Doyle and produced by Chromolume, the in-house company at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, this compelling new play is backed by extensive research and offers a fresh perspective on two of the 20th century’s most influential figures.
Set in late-19th century Vienna, the story draws inspiration from a real recommendation by Hitler’s childhood doctor that he should attend Freud’s children’s psychiatric clinic—a visit that never happened due to his father’s refusal.
The play explores whether Freud, the century’s greatest psychoanalyst, could have altered the course of history by treating the young Hitler. It moves from biting dry humour to creeping dread, challenging audiences to consider the limits of therapy in the face of monstrous potential.
Originally broadcast as a 60-minute radio play on BBC Radio 4’s The Saturday Play in 2007, this marks the first time Dr Freud Will See You Now, Mrs Hitler will be fully realised on stage.
Writer Laurence Marks said, “Our play was a result of many years of studious reading, when it suddenly occurred to us that it was possible that two of the greatest German-speaking figures of the 20th century could have met one another. Our curiosity was such as to imagine what might have happened had they done so…and when we came to that conclusion, we thought a stage play was brewing. This is a work of the imagination, of course, but the line in the play, said by Sigmund Freud, ‘It’s fascinating how, as modern life becomes more complex, the masses look to their leaders for ever more simple solutions’, really resonated with what is happening over in the United States and Russia, under the Presidency of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. This is very much a play for today. We must never forget at this very moment in history the impact Freud and Hitler had on our lives, even if they are on the horizon of our memories. Would today’s world have been a vastly different place had the two men really met?”
The production features set and costume design by Hannah Danson and lighting design by Simon Jackson. It also maintains strong connections to the Freud Museum in Hampstead, where the Freud family lived after fleeing Vienna.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
