SIGMUND Freud meets Salvador Dali in Terry Johnson’s Olivier Award-winning comedy Hysteria at Theatre Royal Winchester from 9 to 11 February.

An ageing Freud has fled Nazi-occupied Austria and settled in London. When his admirer Dali pays him a visit and discovers a naked woman in the wardrobe, mayhem ensues. Charles Spencer of the Daily Telegraph called it a ‘modern classic’, describing it as ‘hilariously funny, genuinely thought provoking and at key moments deeply affecting’.

Hysteria, which won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 1994, makes fun of both Dali’s artistic antics and the foundations of modern psychoanalysis. It is, said Time Out, ‘a custard pie of comic brilliance’.

Terry Johnson is one of the UK’s most celebrated living playwrights. His work includes Dead Funny, The Graduate, Insignificance, Mrs Henderson Presents and Cleo Camping Emmanuelle and Dick.

Hysteria is the 35th touring production from London Classic Theatre which was established in 2000 and brought The Birthday Party to Winchester last year. It is directed by Michael Cabot and stars John Dorney, Ged McKenna, Summer Strallen and Moray Treadwell.

Hysteria can be seen at Theatre Royal Winchester from Thursday 9 to Saturday 11 February. Tickets are available from theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk or on 01962 840 440. There is a free post-show discussion with the cast and director on the opening night.