Phyl

Theatre Row [Theatre 4]

410 West 42nd Street New York, NY 10036 New York, NY 10036

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PHYL, written in 1911 by Cicely Hamilton. Phyllis (Phyl) Chester is trapped in the solitary existence of a governess, walled off from the life she craves—until she loses her temper and does something that could cost her everything.

PHYL was never published. The play was set to premiere in Oxford under the direction of B. Iden Payne. However the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University banned the play. Hamilton wasn’t fussed, “It really doesn’t matter,” she said, “All those Oxford small boys can run up to London any time they like and see something much worse.” Hamilton goes on to comment how “PHYL passed the Lord Chamberlain, who did not require the alteration of a single line.”

PHYL premiered in Manchester instead. The Manchester Courier review ran under the headline “Woman Who Did.” and a disapproving critic describes Phyl “slaking thirsty lips in the voluptuous pleasure of life.” When Hamilton was asked how she described the play, she said, “Well, I call it a comedy because it has a happy ending, and I hope somebody is funny in it.”