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If one dares to consider psychoanalysis to be an art form, it appears that psychoanalysis is most akin to the art of theatre.
“As the curtain rises, the doorbell rings. The first player enters and opens the door, and the second player enters. After greetings vaguely, the second player lies on the couch. The first player sits on the seat behind it. The second player narrates, and sometimes keeps silent; the first player listens and sometimes speaks. All the speeches are improvised. After forty-five minutes, both players get up from their seats, the second player pays the session fee, the first player opens the door, after a farewell slightly, the second player leaves, and the first player closes the door. Exeunt.“
That is the simple mise-en-scene that the playwright writes, the audience sees, and the actors play; which will be repeated at least three times a week and for years.
So, if all the world's a stage, what makes this play created by these two people, who can be both audience, author, hero and actor within this stage, psychoanalysis?
In this paper, the author argues this resemblance, elaborates on it, shares the questions that arise in the mind and endeavours to connect the art of theatre and psychoanalysis.