Who Is Sylvia? (play)

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Who Is Sylvia? is a 1950 comedy play by the British writer Terence Rattigan about a man obsessed with the image of a woman he met as a seventeen year old and his search for her throughout the rest of his life. The play offered a thinly veiled portrayal of Rattigan's own philandering father.[1] Like Perchance to Dream, Ivor Novello's long-running musical terminating only two years previously, Rattigan chose a line from William Shakespeare for his title. The line is the first wistful question of a song passage in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.[2]

Original production[edit]

The play opened at the Criterion Theatre, London, on 24 October 1950,[3] with the following cast:[3]

Reception[edit]

Although it ran for over a year, it was not considered as successful as several of the playwright's previous works.[4] This was especially so critically, with the Evening Standard's Beverley Baxter writing, "This Will Not Do, Mr Rattigan."[5]

Film adaptation[edit]

The play was adapted into a 1955 film The Man Who Loved Redheads.[6][7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Man Who Loved Redheads".
  2. ^ "Song: "Who is Silvia? what is she" by William Shakespeare". Poetry Foundation. 27 September 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Who is Sylvia? - Drama Online". www.dramaonlinelibrary.com.
  4. ^ "Who Is Sylvia?". www.samuelfrench.co.uk.
  5. ^ Pattie p.119
  6. ^ "The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955)". Archived from the original on 23 September 2017.
  7. ^ "Terence Rattigan plays: timeline and synopsis". 27 September 2017 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.

Bibliography[edit]

  • David Pattie. Modern British Playwriting: The 1950s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations. 2013.


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