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Beyond Therapy
Bruce and Prudence are deeply into therapy. Prudence's macho therapist is urging her to be more assertive while Bruce's wacky female therapist wants him to meet women by placing a personal ad. She does not fully comprehend that Bruce has a male lover who is not pleased by Bruce's desire to date a woman: Prudence. Bruce doesn't know how to handle poor nervous Prudence and Prudence doesn't know what to make of her unpredictable new boyfriend. They do learn to live beyond therapy in this delightful Off Broadway hit that moved successfully to Broadway.
"Offers the best therapy of all: guaranteed laughter." Time.
"Filled with off beat laugh lines, wry observations on the contemporary urban psyche and situations that range from farcical to absurd." Women's Wear Daily.
120 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
December 20, 2024
So I had to read this for drama and I can’t say it wasn’t a good experience 🤷♀️
TW: the word Cocks*cker 😢
TW: the word Cocks*cker 😢
November 5, 2022
This script is such a hoot!
May 29, 2025
This is a bizarro comedy. Prudence meets Bruce at a restaurant after answering his advertisement in the New York Review of Books ("white male, 30 to 35, 6'2''. blue eyes, into rock music, movies, jogging and quiet evenings at home"). Their date does not start off auspiciously: Bruce tells her straight-up that he "swings both ways" and asks her, "Do you?" Prudence, obtusely oblivious to his meaning, replies "I don't know. I always insist on the lights being out." The conversation does not pan out well: Bruce casually mentions he has a boyfriend, Prudence says she hates gay people, Bruce cries in public, Prudence scolds him for crying, Bruce asks Prudence to marry him, and the scene culminates with Prudence calling him a "real first-class idiot" and Bruce calling her a "a castrating, frigid-bitch". But the two of them are sane in comparison to their therapists: Prudence's therapist, Stuart, is an insecure, macho, predatory philanderer, constantly trying to seduce her; Bruce's therapist, Charlotte, is a bemusing eccentric, sputtering Freudian slips one after the other and free-associating random words ("Did I say porpoise? What word do I want? Porpoise. Pompous. Pom Pom. Paparazzi. Polyester. Pollywog. Olley olley oxen free. Patient.") It's an anarchic play with deranged counseling sessions, melodramatic threats of suicide, and two fake-gun shootings.
It's a spoofing of Peter Shaffer's play Equus—the grizzly drama about a sexually repressed teenager who acts out his mystical equine hallucinations by blinding horses in a barn one night. In Beyond Therapy, the characters refer to Equus but they comically misunderstand its message. In the first scene, Bruce says, "Did you see "Equus"? That doctor felt it was better to blind eight horses in a stable with a metal spike than to have no passion...In my life I am not going to be afraid to blind horses." This is precisely not what Equus is about; it's about the entanglement of sexual shame and puritanical scruples, causing a boy to project his guilt and self-loathing onto the horses' eyes, and in a desperate rage, gauge out those damning eyes. If Bruce misunderstands the play, it's because his own therapist has an idiosyncratic view of it: "Never be afraid to risk, to risk! I've told you about "Equus", haven't I? That doctor, Doctor Dysart, with whom I greatly identify, saw that it was better to risk madness and to blind horses with a metal spike, than to be safe and conventional and dull. Ecc, ecc equus! Naaaaaay!" There's a partial truth: Doctor Dysart questions whether psychiatric treatment can really heal a person. But Charlotte fundamentally misconstrues Doctor Dysart in thinking that people should blind horses and that convention itself is to be avoided. Charlotte is blending platitudes into an embarrassing misread. The two therapists are total quacks, misusing psychoanalytic terms, repeatedly violating patient boundaries and actively encouraging transference. Charlotte can barely remember her patient's name (or even the word 'patient'). Equus is a tragic story showing the harm of repression but Beyond Therapy is a chaotic farce suggesting that, on the contrary, maybe sometimes people need to be more repressed.
It's a zany parody of out-of-touch therapists and their self-absorbed patients, all wrapping their impulsive behavior in the exonerating language of psychoanalysis. It's hard to imagine the play actually performed on stage. In his notes, Christopher Durang does a lot of work spelling out the need for realism. The play is a comedy but the characters still have to feel convincingly normal for it to have comic effect: Bruce has to be manly, not camp or too stylized; Prudence has to be witty and independent but still believably pliant to a man's touch; Stuart can't appear completely manipulative and sinister but has to be play a combination of insecure narcissist and "emotional sexual fascist"; if played too heavy-handed as a crackpot, Charlotte, with her malapropisms and Freudian slips, would just become a grating caricature. I think this play has probably aged out of currency and the humor wears thin.
It's a spoofing of Peter Shaffer's play Equus—the grizzly drama about a sexually repressed teenager who acts out his mystical equine hallucinations by blinding horses in a barn one night. In Beyond Therapy, the characters refer to Equus but they comically misunderstand its message. In the first scene, Bruce says, "Did you see "Equus"? That doctor felt it was better to blind eight horses in a stable with a metal spike than to have no passion...In my life I am not going to be afraid to blind horses." This is precisely not what Equus is about; it's about the entanglement of sexual shame and puritanical scruples, causing a boy to project his guilt and self-loathing onto the horses' eyes, and in a desperate rage, gauge out those damning eyes. If Bruce misunderstands the play, it's because his own therapist has an idiosyncratic view of it: "Never be afraid to risk, to risk! I've told you about "Equus", haven't I? That doctor, Doctor Dysart, with whom I greatly identify, saw that it was better to risk madness and to blind horses with a metal spike, than to be safe and conventional and dull. Ecc, ecc equus! Naaaaaay!" There's a partial truth: Doctor Dysart questions whether psychiatric treatment can really heal a person. But Charlotte fundamentally misconstrues Doctor Dysart in thinking that people should blind horses and that convention itself is to be avoided. Charlotte is blending platitudes into an embarrassing misread. The two therapists are total quacks, misusing psychoanalytic terms, repeatedly violating patient boundaries and actively encouraging transference. Charlotte can barely remember her patient's name (or even the word 'patient'). Equus is a tragic story showing the harm of repression but Beyond Therapy is a chaotic farce suggesting that, on the contrary, maybe sometimes people need to be more repressed.
It's a zany parody of out-of-touch therapists and their self-absorbed patients, all wrapping their impulsive behavior in the exonerating language of psychoanalysis. It's hard to imagine the play actually performed on stage. In his notes, Christopher Durang does a lot of work spelling out the need for realism. The play is a comedy but the characters still have to feel convincingly normal for it to have comic effect: Bruce has to be manly, not camp or too stylized; Prudence has to be witty and independent but still believably pliant to a man's touch; Stuart can't appear completely manipulative and sinister but has to be play a combination of insecure narcissist and "emotional sexual fascist"; if played too heavy-handed as a crackpot, Charlotte, with her malapropisms and Freudian slips, would just become a grating caricature. I think this play has probably aged out of currency and the humor wears thin.
December 30, 2025
3.5 rounding up. People can really write a play about anything huh.
September 9, 2014
I really don't mean this as brag but I was in a production of this play that was so good, Durang heard about it and came to see. I only mean to say two things:
1)This play is so well written, he made it easy to be good.
2) Having spent a lot of time with it, I came to appreciate how well structured it is; how pointed the satire is; and how laugh-until-you-hurt it is.
There was Joe Orton, then there was Chris Durang, and then there was the late, lamented Harry Kondoleon. Masters of seriously funny, seriously painful black humor -- and I've yet to encounter their descendent. But of the three, Durang has the most compassion, which is usually death to a satirist.
Read it, or even better: Go see it or do it. And then go see his "Sonya, Masha, etc." which is now being done everywhere. If it weren't for that long monologue that stops the play to please the baby boomers, it would be nearly as funny.
1)This play is so well written, he made it easy to be good.
2) Having spent a lot of time with it, I came to appreciate how well structured it is; how pointed the satire is; and how laugh-until-you-hurt it is.
There was Joe Orton, then there was Chris Durang, and then there was the late, lamented Harry Kondoleon. Masters of seriously funny, seriously painful black humor -- and I've yet to encounter their descendent. But of the three, Durang has the most compassion, which is usually death to a satirist.
Read it, or even better: Go see it or do it. And then go see his "Sonya, Masha, etc." which is now being done everywhere. If it weren't for that long monologue that stops the play to please the baby boomers, it would be nearly as funny.
October 28, 2021
This play felt super dated and not funny. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood, but I don't think the biphobia, gender essentialism, or dismissal of homosexual relationships as capable of being entirely fulfilling are cute, and I don't know that the play can recover from their inclusion!
December 5, 2018
A good and easy play to read at lunch. Very realistic absurd.
March 30, 2020
If Durang doesn't know where to go with his plays he adds a gun. This play is full of half finished ideas, turns, and tricks, and its hilarious to me that it was performed, enjoyed, and published. Really not worth producing nowadays. It's not aged well. Durang seems to have an obsession with this belief in the superficiality of homosexuality and I don't think he knew what this play was aside from some gags.
February 7, 2021
Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy was first produced in 1981. It's a very offbeat comedy that starts with a man and woman on a blind date in a restaurant. The encounter does not go well and ends up with each person throwing a glass of water in the other's face. It progresses to their individual therapy sessions with his/her psychiatrist. That's where the play takes off, as the therapists are more bizarre than their patients. Overall, this is a quite amusing piece of theater.
December 7, 2023
The absurdity and ambiguity of the dialogue is really appealing to me. It's not how people talk, but it does give the sensation of miscommunication and misinterpretation that actually happens while people talk.
It may be a bit outdated, though. Gender roles and how we think about and verbalize sexuality have evolved quite a bit since this was written. If you approach it more as a time-piece that a critique of those topics, it's probably going to be more enjoyable.
It may be a bit outdated, though. Gender roles and how we think about and verbalize sexuality have evolved quite a bit since this was written. If you approach it more as a time-piece that a critique of those topics, it's probably going to be more enjoyable.
November 22, 2020
Read this on Zoom with a group last night. Great farce and a humorous reminder of people (and therapists) I know. Loved Mrs. Wallace’s reference to Chekhov in Act II. Would like to see a live production of this one day when theaters are open again.
October 29, 2023
This one is my favorite for multiple reasons, (I directed the show way back when in undergrad) I feel it is the best example of Durang’s style, his characters, his take on situational comedy and putting together very unique relationships.
March 26, 2019
Unfortunately had to read this for my acting class. Grossly stereotypical and embarrassingly unfunny.
July 11, 2019
I really enjoyed it. All characters are funny and the ending is endearing.
February 25, 2020
I didn't fully follow the comedy but I think acted out physically it will depend largely on the actors' ability to bring the characters to life to be hilarious!
October 21, 2023
funniest thing i’ve ever read in my life christopher durang is a genius
April 19, 2024
I liked this one better than Durang's Baby with the Bathwater by half a star. I'm not sure Durang's work is my cup of tea. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing his work on stage.
July 25, 2024
Gobbled her up!!!!!!!
November 27, 2024
such a fun read! Lovely comedy.
Great scenes between Prudence and Bruce. As well as the other therapists.
Great ending too.
Great scenes between Prudence and Bruce. As well as the other therapists.
Great ending too.
January 1, 2025
Psychological suffering but make it funny
Read
February 28, 2025read this a million times cuz i was doing a scene:)
April 1, 2025
"Okay Miss Sensuous Woman."
April 7, 2025
cocksucker
September 18, 2025
Over the top satire the therapists are more in need to therapy than the patients. I have a feeling it would be much funnier on stage than on the page.
January 14, 2013
Despite myself, I really enjoyed this play. It always takes me awhile to warm up to Christopher Durang’s plays because his characters are all such charicatures of themselves. I prefer more “real” characters in my stories typically and see one-dimensional characters as a sign of weak writing. However Christopher Durang uses his crazy characters as a device to show the extremes of all of us. He is usually pretty effective at this, and Beyond Therapy is no exception.
In fact, it is exceptionally effective here because we are all at our most ridiculously “crazy” and over-the-top nonsensical when it comes to dealing with romance. Who of us really knows what to do? At least we’re not QUITE as bad as Prudence and Bruce. And do we need therapy? Omg my insecurities! But when our main characters therapists are even crazier than they are, we feel more comfortable suddenly in our own sanity and our own abilities to deal with little issues we may have, all our oddities and romantic failings, suddenly don’t seem too bad.
Durang lets us relate to his crazy hopeless couple, but lets us feel we are better than them(and everyone in his crazy little world), and that lets us leave his little show feeling, just a little bit better about ourselves. Now what could be better than that?!
In fact, it is exceptionally effective here because we are all at our most ridiculously “crazy” and over-the-top nonsensical when it comes to dealing with romance. Who of us really knows what to do? At least we’re not QUITE as bad as Prudence and Bruce. And do we need therapy? Omg my insecurities! But when our main characters therapists are even crazier than they are, we feel more comfortable suddenly in our own sanity and our own abilities to deal with little issues we may have, all our oddities and romantic failings, suddenly don’t seem too bad.
Durang lets us relate to his crazy hopeless couple, but lets us feel we are better than them(and everyone in his crazy little world), and that lets us leave his little show feeling, just a little bit better about ourselves. Now what could be better than that?!
June 2, 2010
This book is also a play it’s very humorous and somewhat ironic. Through the large amount of controversy in the end things somewhat straighten out. In this book 2 opposites work together solve their personal issues. Like in real life how people in real life do. When there's like counseling groups. A bunch of people with numerous problems work through them by relating how they feel and supporting each other. This book was very funny. One of my favorite lines was when the girl said," You’re a premature ejaculator and a lousy therapist". It had me dying out laughing. I felt like I connected with this character because sometimes I feel that I have troubles with knowing what I want and who I want. Also like the male character I feel I have trouble choosing how I feel towards people and lately I've been quite emotional. With the characters being this way gave me that connection with them. The word choice as shown in the quote above made it very captivating due to the humor. The mood in the book was always shifting so it made it very interesting and kept me on my toes. Where it would shift from happy, sad, angry, and then humorous, or a variety of all or a few of those feelings.
March 17, 2012
Really really terrific stuff. Why isn't Durang performed more often? The scathing look at therapy, its faults and flaws, and the wonderfully broken people that try to fix themselves is timely, beyond hysterical, and ultimately pretty moving. I wish the second act kept the momentum that the first act had, it does lose a bit of steam, but overall, really smart stuff. Nobody does the absurdist satire better.
July 6, 2013
This was my first exposure to the wild world of Christopher Durang.
I remember really liking it at the time.
And in the years since I have seen many scenes from it in my class.
But don't rent the film.
Horrible.
I remember really liking it at the time.
And in the years since I have seen many scenes from it in my class.
But don't rent the film.
Horrible.
November 23, 2008
I read this for the first time in '99 but I am re-reading it because I am able to appreciate a lot more layers to it now.
December 9, 2008
Hilariously funny! I wish we were all as sane as Charlotte.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews