Terry Morgan
Writing, at the best of times, is a tricky proposition. Some authors claim that they can’t stop writing, that it’s a function like breathing to them, whereas other scribes do everything in their power to delay composition. Some require peace and silence to write, while alternatively some require music to aid the creative process. It’s a delicate process for one person to navigate, much less two writers in a romantic relationship. That situation is the set-up for Beth Hyland’s Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia, in which the spirits of famed poets and married couple Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes appear to a married young present-day writer and upend her life. The world premiere production at the Geffen Playhouse is smart, witty and powerful in its entertaining look at the darker corners of the writing life.
Sally (Midori Francis) got famous at a young age for writing “the millennial Bell Jar,” and now she’s struggling with sophomore slump. Her husband Theo (Noah Keyishian) is encouraging, but his current success in his own writing and career is making her envious, although she tries not to be. They’re living in the same Boston apartment that Sylvia Plath (Marianna Gailus) and Ted Hughes (Cillian O’Sullivan) occupied in 1958, in which Sylvia and Ted had a similarly difficult relationship. One day Sally hopelessly wishes for inspiration, and Sylvia shows up. She’s not happy to be summoned, and her advice is mostly negative, but it does the trick, and Sally writer’s block disappears. But her obsessive behavior begins to worry Theo.
Francis is terrific and very funny as Sally (her sarcastic delivery to Theo of “thank you, male ally” is perfect), but she also nails the dramatic aspects of the role as her character’s situation gets worse. Gailus does an excellent job of portraying the many disparate aspects of Sylvia, from the young 1950s wife wanting to please her artist husband to the older and angrier woman who Sally meets. She’s sharp, sometimes a bit scary and ultimately heartbreaking. Keyishian excels as the very earnest Theo, and O’Sullivan succeeds as the imposing Ted, especially in moments in which he gets to go fully villainous.
Jo Bonney expertly directs the play with confident style and gets superb work from her actors. She does an impressive job of seamlessly transitioning from one time period to another, ably abetted by Lap Chi Chu’s expressive lighting design and Studio Bent’s cleverly adaptable set. Hyland’s script is a marvel of deep character work and thematic concerns combining to make something fresh, with abundant humor and raw emotion giving it life. Theo’s line about “I don’t want thousands of years of patriarchy to be in the room right now” is both amusing and revealing about his character, in contrast to Ted’s hypnotic interrogation of Sylvia, in which he chillingly questions her if she’ll love their baby more than him. Hyland also makes it clear how gender has unfairly changed how artists are treated, which is a topic that still resonates.
Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia is a fantastic production of a great new work and is one of the best plays this year.
Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia is presented by and at Geffen Playhouse and plays through March 8, 2026.
Tickets are available at https://www.geffenplayhouse.org/
Pauline Adamek
