Summary: 
Already in Freud's early publications there is a close relationship between psychoanalyses and theatre, especially from the point of view of psychoanalysis. In this Oedipus Rex, Hamlet and other plays by Shakespeare have played an important role. Dramaturgy has helped Freud and his followers to test and clarify their concepts. This can be explained by the resemblance between dreams and theatrical performances. The significance of the 'dream within the dream' is compared with the 'play within the play', as in 'Hamlet'. The relation between the psychoanalytical situation and theatre is elucidated by the `Biihnenmodell' (Habermas). The importance psychoanalysis might have for dramaturgy is underlined by a discussion of Shakespeare's 'Othello'.