"A fierce pas de deux of love, loss and anguish that will leave you breathless."
This is how Variety reviewed the 2015 Broadway production of David Hare’s heart-piercing play Skylight, coming to the Abbey Theatre later this month.
"Some plays dissolve with time. David Hare’s Skylight actually seems to have got richer," writes The Guardian’s Michael Billington.
A year after his wife dies, Tom Sergeant visits Kyra Hollis, his erstwhile lover, in her North-West London flat.
Tom is a charismatic businessman, a successful entrepreneur. She’s a teacher who, working with children at the bottom of the social ladder, has dedicated her life to the service of others.
As they fall into a battle of opposing politics, they must navigate their mutual desire.
You can’t help thinking that on some profound level these two were made to be together, but can the gulf between them be bridged or is the gap too great?
Director Terry Prince said: "This is really a play about relationships. A wonderful mixture of the personal and the political, it appeals to the heart and the head.
"We see both points of view, and any political statements have to grow organically from the interactions between the characters.
"Hare balances the two divergent views of society represented by Kyra and Tom.
"They express these not as mouthpieces of a particular political viewpoint but as two people committed to life choices which are very different."
Set in 1995, but actually looking back at Thatcher’s Britain of the 1980s, it is even more pertinent in a society based on inequality, the society we inhabit today.
The successful West End revival in 2014 with Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan proved the play remains as relevant and impactful as it was at its premiere.
This is one of the great intimate plays of passionate ideas and complex love – delicate, hilarious and thought provoking.
The Company of Ten presents Skylight on the Abbey Theatre Main Stage from Tuesday, June 22 to Saturday, June 26 at 8pm.
All performances are also being livestreamed for those that want to watch at home rather than in the auditorium.
To book tickets go to www.abbeytheatre.org.uk or call the box office on 01727 857861.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here