When Liz Hicklin was twenty-two years old, she fell madly in love with a young poet named Ted Hughes. Their relationship lasted eighteen months. Then he met Sylvia Plath. The rest is literary history. Seventy years later, Liz would like a word.
Premiering at the 2026 Melbourne Fringe Festival, Sylvia Plath Stole My Boyfriend is a funny, audacious and deeply moving new one-woman show written by Jacinta Parsons (ABC) and Liz Hicklin and performed by 95-year-old Liz Hicklin.
What makes it stand out and why should people see it?
It’s a clever interpretation of an exciting part of a 95-year-old woman’s life, relived across the world.
How long was the process from idea to writing to stage? Any challenges along the way?
Surprisingly quick, two months! Numerous challenges but this is part of the creative process.
What attracts you to Fringe?
The Fringe empowers everyone to creative expression.
How would you describe your relationship with the audience and what do you love the most about live performance?
I love my audiences and the warmth and appreciation they give back to me. I love the connection with people, making them laugh, and seeing their enjoyment. That’s what makes performing so special to me.
Who would you say have been your biggest inspirations?
My biggest inspiration has been the radio personality, Jacinta Parsons.
What are three things that would surprise people to learn about you?
The fact that at 95, I still drive locally, I write and am a published author, I’m actively involved in a variety of local groups – water aerobics, cooking classes, probus and the Peninsula Writers Club.
What do you love to most about performing at Melbourne Fringe?
I love the diversity of Melbourne Fringe audience. There’s such a wonderful mix of people, and everyone brings their own energy and appreciation.
What comes after the Fringe Festival for you?
Who knows?! Edinburgh Festival. I can’t die! Life is too much fun.
Sylvia Plath Stole My Boyfriend moves between the young woman who fell in love in 1950s Britain and the woman looking back seven decades later: at love, sex, marriage, motherhood, grief, ambition, ageing and the strange business of discovering yourself when the world assumes you should be winding down. The production sits at the heart of a larger creative project, including a feature documentary currently in development, exploring ageism, visibility and what happens when we stop treating old age as the final chapter of a person’s creative life.
October 15 – 18
melbournefringe.com.au
