Photos: First Look at PHYL at Mint Theater Company

Mint Theater Company is kicking off its season this week with the New York premiere of PHYL, a rarely seen comedy by pioneering British playwright and suffragist Cecily Hamilton, directed by Britt Berke. Performances will run through November 7, 2026 and will open on October 22nd at Theatre Row. Get a first look at photos!

PHYL follows Phyllis Chester, a governess trapped in a solitary existence and walled off from the life she craves-until a moment of lost temper leads her to risk everything.

The play launches Mint Theater Company's new season, featuring two frank, provocative, and deeply human works exploring sex, love, marriage, and the complexities of relationships.  Originally scheduled to premiere in Oxford, PHYL was banned by the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, although it had passed the scrutiny of the Lord Chamberlain without requiring the alteration of a single line. The play instead premiered in Manchester, where one disapproving critic described Phyl as "slaking thirsty lips in the voluptuous pleasure of life." When Hamilton was asked how she described the play, she replied, "Well, I call it a comedy because it has a happy ending, and I hope somebody is funny in it." The season will continue in February 2027 with Miles Malleson's THE FANATICS, directed by Davis McCallum.

The cast of PHYL features Lily Ganser as Phyllis "Phyl" Chester, making her Off-Broadway debut, alongside Tessa Blimes, Jennifer Blood, Curzon Dobell, Katie Firth, Betsy Hogg, Livvy Marcus, Anthony Michael Martinez, and Charlotte Van Ledtje.

Photo credit: Todd Cerveris