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When I wake up in my Market East neighborhood I am assured of a few things. The window shopping is better in other locations. The chaotic pulse of a street lined with sneaker stores and electronic shops lacks a certain intimacy. So, getting a look into the window of a run-down flat where two former lovers try to rekindle a flame extinguished by guilt and personal philosophical differences is heady stuff a few strides from McDonald’s and within earshot of the Funk-O-Mart. The Lantern Theater Company’s production of David Hare’s London-based play, Skylight, gives us a chance to enter the apartment in a part of town where the global issues of our times play out. In the intimate discourse between two people meant to be together, but who have lost their window in time, cases are made for differing options on how one might live the good life. Sometimes a missed opportunity is hard to find again. Even in Market East where things are constantly changing and people move around barely noticing the passage of time.

Kyra (Genevieve Perrier) is the self-assured idealist looking for a role and hoping that love will come along for the ride. She’s the former lover of Tom (Peter DeLaurier). They haven’t been together for three years after their tryst was exposed. Both of them live in guilt-ridden isolation on different sides of the tracks as ambition replaces love as their driving motivation. Kyra wants to find the essential oil of life. Tom just wants to smell good. In the intimate dialog between two former lovers, we sit on a couch in a chilly living-room and listen to the story of our own passage played out in the travails of a love clinging to old paradigms. Circumstances have changed. Their love faces a different reality.

Hare’s writing brings us close to the breath of his characters. We grow to care about their dilemma because we’ve been exposed to the choices they have. In Market East, the neighborhood can change dramatically depending on which way you turn. Kyra’s stability and connection to her central values sits beside her stubbornness and willingness to suffer alone. Tom’s inability to react truthfully and his aloof dispassion for a value-driven life sit beside his longing for a passion and intimacy missing for three years. We sit beside it all and remember those times when we’ve stood at similar crossroads and considered the macro issues of the day in the context of our whispers behind closed doors.

The Lantern Theater Company with subtle direction and a set that smells a lot like my Market East apartment (the ubiquitous spaghetti sauce smell) has given us the opportunity to enter the apartment of one of our neighbors. English accents aside, we wrestle with our practical side and the idealist within. We remember the overwhelming sense of guilt and obligation that comes from relationships. And here, we get to look into the eyes of two well-meaning people who can’t get it together for reasons that we live with every day. Perrier’s performance as Kyra reminds us that our feet remain solid on the pavement when we do things the right way. Her sacrifices aren’t the key to happiness, but her goals are no less lofty than those motivated by selfish pursuits. Perrier wins us over with her accent and her eyes. We sat close enough to look into them. The icy stare of an idealist and a willingness to live a life of principle lights up the stage brighter than the heater in the beleaguered apartment. DeLaurier’s manic performance speaks to his discomfort with the intimate issues that he longs to realize. We drink every shot of whiskey with him. We sense his frustration. And finally, we understand why he projects his pain onto those around him because we’ve seen the power of guilt in our own lives. Trying to relive a moment lost is like trying to catch a dollar bill on the windy streets of Market East.

Edward (Ryan Jones) is Tom’s son. The stage is set for a reach back in time by his unexpected visit to Kyra’s apartment. His wide-eyed portrayal reminds of us of the story outside of the couple. The collateral damage. But his bouncy optimism tells us that life does indeed roll on. Time does not stand still. This production of Skylight manages to make us guests to the after-party, and we are afraid to leave because we grow to want a happy ending.

When you look down into the skylight of Market East, you might see the story of people moving so fast that life’s finer points get lost in the shuffle. If you can sit long enough with the folks at the Lantern Theater, you might remember that every decision that you make sends you off on a path. We can only hope that the path leads us in the right direction, even if we are never sure.

As we walked out of the theater in Market East and stepped through the steam coming from the gritty streets of my neighborhood, I felt like we had just visited our neighbors across the way. Only this time, we were visiting ourselves.

Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater
10th and Ludlow (Between Market and Chestnut), Philadelphia, PA
215-829-0395
www.lanterntheater.org

Skylight
Written by David Hare
Directed by Dan Kern
With: Peter DeLaurier, Ryan Jones, Genevieve Perrier
February 1st – 24th