Synchronicity at the White Bear Theatre. © Dawson James
Guest review from my friend, neighbour and theatre buddy, Raymond Whitaker. My on-the-night social media reactions further down.
Synchronicity, at the White Bear Theatre in London until 30 November 2024, is about the meeting of two great minds: the psychologist Carl Jung and the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Wolfgang Pauli.
The playwright, Arthur I Miller, is the author of a number of books about the intersection of science with other ways of thinking, but this is his first venture into the realm of his near-namesake.
The setting is Jung’s house outside Zurich, where the pair met many times between 1931 and 1958. Pauli (played by Jeremy Drakes) first went to Jung (Stephen Riddle) for help with his addictions to alcohol and loveless sex with prostitutes, and the initial contrast between the magisterial psychologist and his frenetic patient is sharp.
But the scientist cannot resist disputing the therapist’s ideas, bound up with numerology, alchemy, archetypes and the concept of a collective unconscious. Jung, meanwhile, challenges Pauli to look beyond the rational, and the sessions develop into a dialogue between opposed traditions. Male Arcucci’s set illustrates this, with mystical symbols on one wall and scientific formulae on the other.
There is much heavy lifting for the two actors as the discussions range from mandalas to quantum physics, but Miller manages to mingle humanity with the abstractions.
We learn, for example, that Jung was not above having affairs with his patients and students, giving great pain to his wife, and that he flirted briefly with Nazism. (Pauli commented slyly that it was easier for him to achieve academic success than successes with women, while “with Mr Jung rather the contrary is the case”.)
Both men were controversial among their peers for being willing to stray beyond the boundaries of their respective fields, and the play shows how Jung and Pauli came to an understanding, encapsulated in the concept of synchronicity (you’ll have to look it up). But Drakes and Riddle also bring out the growing warmth and respect between psychologist and patient, who end up as friends.
In less experienced hands, the evening could have set heads spinning. Thanks to these two players and director Anthony Shrubsall, we are not only left with plenty to think about but entertained as well.
– Raymond Whitaker
Synchronicity continues at London’s White Bear Theatre until Saturday 30 November 2024.
On BlueSky
A deeply thought-provoking evening at the #WhiteBearTheatre with my friend Raymond seeing #Synchronicity, a two-hander by Arthur I Miller (not the other Arthur Miller!) about the relationship between psychiatrist Carl Jung and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Wolfgang Pauli. #londontheatre
— Terri Paddock (@terripaddock.bsky.social) November 22, 2024 at 9:39 PM
It reminded me of Mark St Germain’s 2009 play (+ 2023 film) Freud’s Last Session, about a fictional meeting b/t Sigmund Freud & CS Lewis.
But #Synchronicity tracks Jung & Pauli’s real friendship & joint cosmic obsession over decades of therapy sessions, dream analysis & debate. #londontheatre
— Terri Paddock (@terripaddock.bsky.social) November 22, 2024 at 9:39 PM
#Synchronicity is inspired by scientist & writer Arthur Miller’s own book on the matter.
His knowledge of both his subjects & their fields of expertise is evident in Anthony Shrubsall’s production, which draws nimble perfs from Stephen Riddle as Jung & Jeremy Drakes as Pauli. #londontheatre
— Terri Paddock (@terripaddock.bsky.social) November 22, 2024 at 9:39 PM
After 100 minutes in Jung & Pauli’s company, I feel smarter – & excited to gen up even more on psychological archetypes & the collective unconscious.
#Synchronicity is #WhiteBearTheatre til 30 November. #londontheatre
🎟️ bit.ly/3CSucck
— Terri Paddock (@terripaddock.bsky.social) November 22, 2024 at 9:39 PM
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