When it comes to relationship advice, some people turn to friends, some people turn to family; Fran turns to long-dead Austrian psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud.
ASILOP:TM (A Series of Introductory Lectures On Psychoanalysis: The Musical) is a bold new musical, charting the beginning of the relationship between medical student Fran and her library crush, Anna, as well as her friendship with her lovable but confusing housemates. To complicate things, everything is routinely interrupted by Freud and the people around her bursting into songs that re-interpret her loved ones’ actions in a very Freudian way.
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| Caroline Young, Lara Bulloch, Savinay Sood and Lexie Turner. Photo by Kataria Media. |
Written by Alex Rawnsley, this off-beat show boasts a score of 14 original songs, with musical influences spanning from Sondheim to Bavarian folk music, and a libretto that might make you cry, might make you think, but will definitely make you laugh.
Ahead of the show running at King’s Head Theatre in London from 20th until 24th August, we speak to writer, composer and lyricist Alex Rawnsley to learn more about the show..
What can you tell me about the show?
A Series of Introductory Lectures On Psychoanalysis: The Musical (ASILOP:TM for short) begins with medical student Fran, at the moment of two big changes in her life:
1) She has just met a girl, Anna
2) She has become deeply obsessed with the theories of Sigmund Freud.
The play follows Fran navigating her burgeoning romantic relationship with Anna, and her changing friendships with her housemates, periodically interrupted by Freud himself appearing and re-interpreting the events via song. As the story progresses and feelings intensify, Fran’s ironic fascination with Freud threatens to become something much more sinister...
Where did the inspiration for the piece come from?
I was incredibly obsessed with Freud as a teenager. A couple years afterwards I looked back at that phase and all I could think was “what the hell was all that about?”. In essence, this is a show that tries to explain why people might find the theories of Freud (as distasteful as many of them are) appealing, exciting, or even useful, but also to not shy away from the hurt it can cause.
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| Anne Mae Zhao and Bethan Draycott. Photo by Kataria Media. |
When did you know that you wanted to make this piece a musical and how did you approach that?
I knew pretty much as soon as I started working on the piece that it was going to be a musical. I always knew that I wanted a realistic narrative interrupted by vaudeville-style musical numbers about Freudian theory. In terms of approaching writing the songs, I generally would figure out where the song is and what it has to achieve, discuss it with our director Harriet Gill to get some of their ideas, and then try to churn it out.
How would you describe the style of the show?
A camp, spirited, anarchic farce with thoughtfulness at its heart.
How have you been preparing for the run of the show?
We originally performed the show in February in a lecture theatre in Oxford, and so we had some of the framework already in place. Since then, the show’s been quite heavily cut to fit the shorter time slots of Fringe, so we’ve been rehearsing the new version for a few months!
If the show was a biscuit, what would it be and why?
A Viennese finger. Light, fun, sweet, Austrian, and vaguely phallic.
Can you give me a random fact about the show?
All of Freud’s numbers are loosely inspired by Bavarian traditional dances, which swiftly became the only thing on my YouTube recommended.
What keeps you inspired?
The thing that first inspired me and keeps inspiring is watching other student plays! There’s something special about the low-stakes and supportive environment of amateur theatre that gives people the confidence to make really unique and thought-provoking things.
What do you hope an audience member takes away from seeing the show?
The show asks the audience to see things from a very different perspective, and plays around with expectations of structure, form, and what “normal” means in relationships. However, most importantly, it aims to make the audience laugh – I hope an audience member would leave the show feeling like they’ve had a good time, as cliché as that sounds!
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| Bethan Draycott and Anna Mae Zhao. Photo by Kataria Med |
Where can people see the show?
We’re playing at the King’s Head Theatre (116 Upper Street, London N1 1QP) at 9pm on the 20th - 23rd of August and 8pm on the 24th.
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