BOTH ♊️
“Xochi is dealing with a lot: a difficult pregnancy, a new relationship, a family that can't stand her and the loss of her twin brother Sebastian, who was declared missing last year. As she tries to navigate her life (and keep her sanity), the impossible happens: Sebastian reappears. Her family is overjoyed, but Xochi is suspicious: where has he been? And why does this version of Sebastian seem so different than the one she knew? BOTH is an eerie examination of family, love, memory and which version of the truth is the one worth believing.”
Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference Finalist - 2025
| Production History |
| World Premiere | Steppenwolf Theatre + Teatro Vista, Spring 2026
TheaterWorks Hartford, coming Spring 2027
| In-House Reading | Geffen Playhouse, Fall 2024
| Public Reading | Teatro Vista, Spring 2024
Created as part of the Geffen Playhouse 2023/2024 Writer’s Room
New Play Exchange link HERE
Praise from The Chicago Tribune (4/4 stars):
“Paloma Nozicka is fast becoming one of my favorite Chicago playwrights — an assertion I’m confident in making on the basis of her two full-length works to be produced thus far. With “Enough to Let the Light In,” which debuted at Teatro Vista Productions in 2022, and her latest world premiere, “BOTH,” Nozicka demonstrates complete mastery of the best type of stage thriller: those that combine gripping suspense with richly crafted characters, complex family dynamics and sensitive explorations of trauma.”
Praise from The Chicago Reader (Reader Recommended):
“BOTH makes us question our assumptions about how families deal with profound tragedy, and what stories we tell ourselves in order to keep living through loss. It also reinforces what a powerful team Nozicka and Verdin make in reimagining what stage thrillers can be.”
Praise from Stage and Cinema:
“…In BOTH, the brilliant new play from Paloma Nozicka…loss—of life, of family, of connection, of purpose—runs through every aspect of Both. Nozicka, who developed this play at the Geffen Playhouse until it was “snatched up… before anyone else could get to it” (TVP’s words), is a remarkably gifted writer, creating characters who step onto the stage fully actualized from the get-go.”
Praise from Chicago Theatre Review:
“BOTH, a new play by Paloma Nozicka and directed by Georgette Verdin is a sly, creepy and thoroughly entertaining take on grief, belonging, human connection, and truth. Don’t let those serious words fool you though, it’s also a ripping good yarn.”
Praise from Broadway World:
“Nozicka’s script is layered and suspenseful, keeping the audience guessing while grounding the story in emotional authenticity…As an introduction to both Teatro Vista and Paloma Nozicka’s work, BOTH is an excitingly chilling premiere. It’s a compelling blend of horror and heartfelt storytelling that will welcome newcomers and longtime supporters alike.”
ENOUGH TO LET THE LIGHT IN 🚪
“Girlfriends Marc and Cynthia spend the night celebrating a milestone, but it quickly devolves into chaos as buried secrets are revealed and lives are irrevocably changed. Enough to Let the Light In is a mind-bending psychological thriller about love, truth, and the ghosts that won't let us go.”
| Production History |
| World Premiere | Steppenwolf Theatre + Teatro Vista, Fall 2022
Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Summer 2024
New Play Exchange link HERE
Praise from Broadway World:
“Nozicka has crafted one of those great psychological thrillers; the build-up is slow but steady, the characters finely drawn, and the climax will make you jump…”
Praise from The Chicago Reader:
“Enough to Let the Light In gives a thriller twist to a couple’s secrets…For readers of Toni Morrison, there are distinct echoes of Beloved…the show prompts reflection on what it means to accept someone’s whole self when you love them.”
Praise from New City Stage:
“You’ve heard of a rom-com but have you heard of a rom-thrill? Thromantic? Whatever we want to name the new genre, “Enough to Let the Light In” can set the precedent.”
Praise from Chicago Stage and Screen:
“To say that Nozicka’s play only excels at horror, however, would be selling it massively short. The play achieves something that many writers have tried and failed at. It makes the horror meaningful.”