Left Edge Theatre’s The Sound Inside, by Adam Rapp, is an excellent psychological two-hander that unfolds like a literary mystery.
Bella Lee Baird, portrayed with quiet intensity and authenticity by Ashley Kennedy, is a 53-year-old Creative Writing professor at Yale. She lives alone, keeps to herself, and her one novel—published over two decades ago—is nearly out of print. Breaking the fourth wall, Bella steps forward to narrate a tense, memoir-like story about her unsettling connection with a brilliant but unpredictable and intrusive freshman.
The staging mirrors their emotional terrain with stark elegance. Argo Thompson’s minimalist set—a black couch, desk, and two chairs—evokes the bleakness of Bella’s internal world. Torn book pages hang from the ceiling alongside a birch branch lying in imaginary snow. This pared-down design focuses attention squarely on the language and the growing unease between the characters.
Erik Moore is compelling as Christopher Dunn, the arrogant and enigmatic freshman who refuses to follow rules. He types on an old manual typewriter, makes no appointments, and barges into Bella’s office uninvited. He’s a fan of her forgotten novel and deeply affected by a painting of a woman standing in the snow. Every encounter between the two sparks with potential danger. Christopher is determined to write a novel with a defining, violent “moment,” reminiscent of the murder in Crime and Punishment.
Nic moore (Christopher), Ashley Kennedy (Bella)
As the play oscillates between Bella’s direct addresses to the audience and her increasingly fraught meetings with Christopher, the suspense grows. The audience becomes like readers of a tightly wound literary thriller, wondering: What is really happening here? What will Christopher do?
Their literary banter brims with creativity, swelling and crashing like waves. Drawn to one another, they peel back their histories and argue about storytelling itself. Christopher laments that he doesn’t know how his novel ends. Bella responds, “Not knowing what’s going to happen is a good thing. If the protagonist is leading, you’ll likely stay ahead of your readers.” Rapp—and director Jenny Hollingworth—achieve just that, perfectly.
Bella has a big ask for Christopher, big enough for the audience to hear a heartbeat pounding overhead.
Ashley Kennedy (Bella), Nic Moore (Christopher)
But The Sound Inside is more than a psychological drama. It promotes a profound reflection on the act of writing—how authors blend truth with fiction, how language can both reveal and conceal, and how the outer noise often fails to reflect the sound inside. And most times, all we have are words.
Left Edge Theatre’s The Sound Inside is one play that will lingers long after the sound fades.
“The Sound Inside” by Adam Rapp, directed by Jenny Hollingworth, Set Designer, Argo Thompson, Lighting Designer, Matilda Black, Sound and Costumes, Serena Elize Flores, At Left Edge Theatre, Santa Rosa, California. Info: www.leftedgetheatre.com till June 7th, 2025
Cast: Ashley Kennedy, Nic Moore
Photos by Dana Hunt