Let’s get one thing out in the open from the off – this is not a farce. It’s not even a comedy. So, my expectations were dashed straight away. Silly me – two great comic writers and a title that the Whitehall farces in their heyday would have been green with envy to have…

No, this is a dramatic peek into what could have happened if a young Adolf had become acquainted with Freud. Could Freud have changed history? Or was Hitler’s mania an inevitability beyond anyone’s control?

A bleak, brown set captures the mood. Sadly, for me, it matches the script and the characters too much as well. To avoid comedy, Marks and Gran have dipped their toes into meaty territory, into the very mind of Hitler to try to see why he became what he did. And their device is through Freud’s methods. But, really, this is a play about Freud, not Hitler. To paraphrase, once Hitler becomes Führer, Freud exclaims that he doesn’t know whether to admire Adolf for achieving his dreams or to be appalled by the fact that he has achieved them.

Jonathan Tafler as Freud with Sam Mac as Hitler

And it is ‘dreams’ that is at the core of this play. A wonky doorway and window frame on one side of the stage, a straight one on the other, representing, one assumes, the closeness between sanity and insanity. The play plods along at a dull pace until the penultimate scene – the climax and the whole point of the production: where an elderly Freud faces a triumphant Hitler. A scene reminiscent of Salieri and Mozart, or when Frankenstein finally faces up to his monster… whose head are we inside, at this moment? Has it been a Freudian dream all along? Apart from this magnetic moment, the play had too many scenes, scene changes, lighting changes and characters. Although Jonathan Tafler played Freud convincingly, he was similar throughout. With no obvious journey, he was stuck in a character without much emotional depth. Sam Mac plays a few versions of Hitler, from child all the way through to German Leader. He has more growth, but his ‘temper tantrums’ are what any of us expect to see. Are we watching clichés or well-rounded characterisations?

Sam Mac as a young Adolf Hitler

Sadly, the rest of the cast have to find what space they can in the shadows of these two large characters. But they all come across as having different styles, as though they were in different plays.

The whole piece is disjointed and stutters towards its climax. I can’t help feeling that what began as a Radio Play from 2007 has accidentally been stretched too far and fallen almost into a televisual style. It says, in the programme, ‘Be prepared for an adventurous evening of theatre.’ I was, but it wasn’t.

Photography Chromolume Writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran Director Isaac Bernier-Doyle Producer Annlouise Butt for Chromolume Productions Set & Costume Hannah Danson Lighting Design Simon Jackson

Cast Jonathan Tafler, Nesba Crenshaw, Ruby Ablett, Sam Mac, Brendan Lyle and Neil Chinneck

Venue Upstairs at the Gatehouse, 1 North Road, Highgate Village, London

N6 4BD

Until Sunday 28th September 2025

Tickets £25 from: https://upstairsatthegatehouse.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173663994/events

Showtimes 7.30pm daily (no Monday performances)

Saturdays Matinees at 3pm, Sundays at 4pm Running Time 2 hours – inc interval

Guidance Mentions of antisemitism Socials @upstairsatthegatehouse Website www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com/freudplay

Image courtesy of Paul Stuart Photography Ltd

Ilkley Literature Festival is building on its long legacy as a platform for poets this year, with a distinctly northern programme of poetry events. A major theme for the October festival is In Verse: The Rising of the North. The north’s longest standing literary festival was opened in 1973 by the poet W.H. Auden and has been a dedicated champion of poetry ever since with appearances from luminaries including Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes, and Carol Ann Duffy. It commissioned the 50-mile Stanza Stones Poetry Trail with Simon Armitage, which was completed in 2012. The Poet Laureate returns this October as a headline guest as he reads from his new upcoming collection, New Cemetery inspired by the conversion of a local natural beauty spot into a municipal graveyard near his home in West Yorkshire.

The festival also showcases a series of new poetry commissions, centred on Tony Harrison’s controversial poem, ‘V.’ which celebrates its 40^th anniversary this year. The poem was written during the Miners’ Strike and explores class, alienation, anger, and Northern identity. A televised performance made headlines and divided the nation due to Harrison’s use of profanities.  ‘V.’ Reimagined is chaired by the Yorkshire poet Andrew McMillan and brings together three acclaimed Northern poets – Malika Booker, Jo Clement, and Paul Farley. The commission is a partnership with New Writing North and will be replicated at Durham and Manchester Literature Festivals. 

Festival Director, Erica Morris, said: “We’ve been showcasing the cutting edge of poetry since our inaugural festival in 1973. This year our poetry strand has a distinctly northern accent. As well as welcoming the Poet Laureate, audiences can hear from the rising stars of the poetry scene and discover the talent coming out of the University of Leeds Poetry Centre.”

The festival’s New Northern Poets showcase features six emerging poets selected from a competitive application process to take part in a mentoring programme run by the University of Leeds Centre for Poetry and Word Up North, now in its third year. The six will debut new work resulting from their one-to-one mentoring with experienced poets. They’ll also take part in commissions, including podcasting, leading workshops, and reading groups, to help develop their poetic practice and expand their network.

The six are: Nóra Blascsók, a Hungarian poet based in Manchester; York-based Rachel Curzon; Nigeen Dara, a British-Kurdish doctor and finalist in the 2023 BBC Words First programme; Jamie Field, a Blackpool-based poet and winner of the inaugural Disabled Poets Prize; Vanessa Napolitano, a British/American poet who lives in Saltaire, and Laura Strickland, a carer and poet. This year’s mentors include Zaffar Kunial, shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and Costa Poetry Award; Charlotte Eichler, shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney Centre First Collection Prize and Maia Elsner, winner of the Somerset Maugham Award.

To book https://www.ilkleylitfest.org.uk Box Office: 01943 816714.

I was recently asked out to dinner by a new friend. It was wonderful – delicious food and perhaps a little too much of a rather nice Barolo. But now my dilemma – the return invitation. What to cook? I admit to lacking the enthusiasm for hours over a hot hob these days, but thanks to my dear friends at Tracklements I find I can cheat.

I absolutely love Tracklements, a Wiltshire-based family company who create quality food, using only simple, honest ingredients. All their products are made by hand in small batches, using ingredients sourced from farms and small businesses across England. They’re constantly creating new and exciting products which means there’s always a large selection of high quality, delicious and innovative products, and their latest invention – Shallot & Garlic Jam is to die for. Made with shallots, raw cane sugar, cider and balsamic vinegars, garlic, red chillies, sunflower oil, salt and black pepper – that’s it – simple pure ingredients as always. And the taste is divine, the rich warmth of the shallots and garlic mixed with the heat from the chillies – it adds depth to a cheese board, or a gourmet burger – or mix it into a hake and bean stew to instantly raise the dish to cordon bleu level (guess what I’m preparing for my friend’s visit).

Available at Tracklements £4.20 for 190g jar – delicious.

By Dr K Thompson, award-winning author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q
http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

Frost Magazine has raved about the Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener before – with its fine-grained diamond grinding wheel, it’s both exquisitely beautiful and incredibly useful. The first real knife sharpener for the home chef, unusually for a home device, it sharpens the entire bevel of the knife, achieving professional sharpness in minutes.

And now for exciting news – Tormek have added a new colour – Linen White. The soft, creamy off-white and contrasting Morakniv red Swedish birch handle is simply eye-catching and makes a perfect complement to the sleek and stylish range.

RRP £350, or as a set with the Morakniv 1891 Utility Knife RRP £450, available from shop.tormek.co.uk. Built to last with an 8 year warranty.

By Dr K Thompson, award-winning author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q
http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

Ilkley Literature Festival explores the theme Soft Power with a series of author talks on power players, philosophers, peacemakers, and psychological warfare. The north’s longest-running literary festival returns in its 52^nd year with some of the country’s leading minds in politics, history, and academia discussing big ideas across 17 days in venues across the spa town.

In the panel Frontlines of Psychological Warfare, Times Radio political reporter Terry Stiastny discusses her book Believable Lies – the untold story of a secret British organisation, the Political Warfare Executive, briefed to wage psychological warfare to beat the Nazis. She’s in conversation with the former head of international news at the Guardian, Charlie English, with his book The CIA Book Club – the astonishing story of how ten million books were smuggled across the Iron Curtain in an attempt to win the Cold War with literature.

The festival also examines the legacies of influential but overlooked figures throughout history. Journalist Yvonne Singh’s book, INK! From Empire to Black Power explores the pioneering journalists who addressed global racial injustice and whose work acted as a catalyst for change, covering a transformative period from the age of empire to the heady start of the 1980s.

Thant Myint-U, grandson of the UN’s longest-serving Secretary-General U Thant, traces his grandfather’s rise from schoolteacher to the centre of global politics, with his book, Peacemaker. One of America’s most admired men in the 1970s, U Thant is largely forgotten today.Erica Morris, Director at Ilkley Literature Festival, said: “Soft Power is a festival strand that promises fascinating and enlightening discussions around politics, history, society, race, and gender politics. We invite our audience to re-examine figures and events often lost or forgotten in history, despite their remarkable influence.” The award-winning biographer Sonia Purnell will unveil the spectacular story of one of the mos t powerful women of the 20^th century – Pamela Churchill Harriman. Her book, Kingmaker, explores how Winston Churchill’s daughter-in-law left an indelible mark on the world today, influencing everyone from the Kennedys to Nelson Mandela.

At the dawn of the 20th century the philosopher Henri Bergson was the most famous philosopher on earth. An international celebrity, he made headlines around the world, yet has since faded from historical view. Author Emily Herring revives his story and how Bergson transformed 20^th century thought with her book, Herald of a Restless World.

In literature, Dr Jill Liddington presents Writing Women Up North. Looking beyond the Brontës, Liddington promises a revealing talk on fascinating northern women writers from icons such as Anne Lister, who wrote five-million-word diaries, to Selina Cooper, one of the 29,000 Lancashire women cotton workers who signed and took their suffrage petition down to Westminster. Biographer Valerie Waterhouse reclaims an exceptional, overlooked Yorkshire woman, Malachi Whitaker, as her 1939 memoir of life in Bradford on the cusp of war is finally being republished. Waterhouse puts the spotlight back on the author lauded by the likes of Vita Sackville-West; over 50 of Whitaker’s stories were broadcast on the BBC. 

Soft Power is one of several strands at 2025’s festival, alongside Talking Politics, Doing Justice, The Dark Side of the Internet, Novel Ideas, Explore Moor, Food for Thought and In Verse: The Rising of the North. Authors appearing this year include Jung Chang, Mary Portas, Alan Davies, Jay Raynor, Hugh Bonneville, Nick Clegg, Ruby Tandoh, Simon Armitage, Michael Palin, Lady Hale, Rachel Joyce, and Irvine Welsh.

To book https://www.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk/ Box Office: 01943 816714.