Illuminating performances in ‘Skylight’ revival

FIRST-RATE PERFORMANCES: Bill Nighy & Carey Mulligan in ‘Skylight’. Photo: John Haynes

SKYLIGHT
Written by David Hare
Directed by Stephen Daldry
Through June 14, 2015
John Golden Theatre
252 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.skylightbwy.com

By David NouNou

There is nothing more thrilling for a theatergoer than to see a play with two dueling protagonists having a battle royale that constantly changes one’s allegiance from one character to the other. Every time one feels the play is going in a certain direction and our sympathy leans toward one character, David Hare shifts gears and makes valid points for the other. The dueling protagonists in this brilliantly directed revival are Carey Mulligan as Kyra Hollis and Bill Nighy as Tom Sergeant. Their razor-sharp volleying is impeccable.

Having seen the original in 1997 with Michael Gambon and Lia Williams, I found it pedantic, bleak and a throwback to the original kitchen-sink dramas of the late 1950s, mainly by John Osborne. However, with Stephen Daldry’s crisp direction, every gesture by these performers is nuanced and shaded. The performers themselves are firecrackers and not just lumbering and grousing with remorse across the stage. They are alive and we are invested in their outcome.

Tom and Kyra had a long-term love affair years earlier until Tom’s wife, who was alive at the time, found out about them and Kyra left suddenly and without a word. Kyra first met Tom through his wife, Alice, when she was 18 and worked at one of his restaurants. Tom is a restaurateur and very rich. Kyra came from money but ran away from home at 18 and was happy to be a part of Tom and his family. Tom’s family were very close to Kyra and never understood why Kyra abandoned them when they were all so happy.

On this particular night, Tom’s son Edward (Matthew Beard), who is 18 now, pays Kyra a visit and informs her that his mother died a year ago, and in the course of conversation wants to know why she abandoned him and his sister years ago. As he leaves without an answer, his father, Tom, enters, and he is a much older gentleman, but quite dashing. Tom is an extremely successful restaurateur while Kyra is a teacher who teaches underprivileged children and lives in squalor in a freezing-cold council flat in Kensal Rise, Northwest London, and thus the volley of accusations, guilt, recriminations and remorse begins.

Nothing is ever clear cut in a David Hare play; once the exposition is set, the volley begins and the complexities of life take shape. Whether speaking of their relationship, arguing about class systems, hurling insults or reminiscing about their past, there is no winner on this night; just a lot of remorse and regret and the hope that one of them might have a change of heart in their viewpoints.

A minor problem in casting is Mr. Nighy, age 65, and Ms. Mulligan, age 29; there is certainly an age difference which was not so vast in other productions. However, we are so transfixed by their performances that we overlook this huge difference. Thanks to Mr. Daldry’s direction, he has totally dispensed with any creepiness in their relationship and instilled it with a wonderful love loss. Mr. Nighy is so limber and agile, he becomes ageless and Ms. Mulligan gains extra maturity with just her stillness sensitivity and serenity. Matthew Beard as Tom’s son has just the right angst for a lost teen trying to cope with his life and dad.

In the end, one is not only exhausted by the physicality of the play, but emotionally drained from the constant seesawing of our allegiance to the characters. This is the result when you witness a good show, great direction and excellent performances.

LEADING LADY OF ‘SKYLIGHT’: Carey Mulligan in revival of the David Hare drama. Photo: John Haynes.

MIDDLE-AGED MAN IN CRISIS: Bill Nighy as Tom Sergeant in ‘Skylight.’ Photo: John Haynes

TOM SERGEANT’S SON: Matthew Beard as Edward Sergeant in ‘Skylight.’ Photo: John Haynes

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 9, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on April 8, 2015