A Hunger for Humanity

The characters in “Skylight” are forever preparing food, but they can’t seem to sit down together to eat it.

It’s a telling bit of symbolism in David Hare’s 1995 drama about former lovers who want to reconnect yet are unable--or unwilling--to say the things that would allow that to happen. As they talk around their feelings, their wide-ranging conversation touches upon equality, politics, wealth, education, religion, values and more.

It’s all a bit overcooked, and at South Coast Repertory’s Second Stage in Costa Mesa, director Martin Benson and one of his actors mess up part of the recipe. Still, the show’s worth sampling.

Hare, a British writer, likes to study the intersections of the personal and the political--points at which people can either try to make an impact on the world or merely let the world leave its scars on them. “Plenty,” “The Secret Rapture,” “Racing Demon,” the Oscar Wilde bioplay “The Judas Kiss” and, to a reportedly lesser extent, the current Nicole Kidman Broadway sensation “The Blue Room” have all dealt with the question.

The action of “Skylight”--a hit in London, New York and Los Angeles already--takes place in a cramped, cold apartment in a dicey section of northwest London. The 30ish Kyra Hollis (Cindy Katz) is just home from a day of teaching in another economically depressed section of the city when she receives an unexpected visit from 18-year-old Edward Sergeant (Lars Carlson), followed shortly by a visit from his father, 50-year-old Tom (Martin Jarvis).

Kyra has a long-established--and long-neglected--relationship with the father and son, though the exact nature of it is revealed only in dribs and drabs. The bulk of stage time is devoted to the attempt by Tom, a wealthy restaurateur, to reestablish his romantic relationship with Kyra now that his wife has died. Scenes between Kyra and the puppyishly exuberant son bookend the play, providing, perhaps, a vision of what the relationship between Kyra and the now-prickly Tom must have been like in happier times.

Jarvis’ Tom struts about Kyra’s apartment, nosing in her things and generally trying to take charge. Katz’s Kyra--whose face is an ever-changing canvas of emotions--isn’t about to let him bulldoze her, however. She meets his onslaught of words with some carefully chosen ones of her own, particularly when he condescends toward her low-paying work in one of London’s toughest schools.

Gradually, we come to realize that Kyra, who is socially minded, and Tom, who is more self-centered and materialistic, represent more than themselves, and their barely touched mugs of tea and uneaten pasta dinner--symbolic of their inability to nurture each other--are emblematic of society at large.

SCR’s staging is in many ways equal to what director Robert Egan and the phenomenal actors Brian Cox and Laila Robins accomplished at the Mark Taper Forum in the fall of 1997. Indeed, it is in one way much better: John Iacovelli’s set--a cramped and cheerless space filled with flimsy bookshelves and other makeshift furnishings--is much more appropriate than David Jenkins’ cheerful, trendy loft space for the Taper.

Yet the show slips in one key area: Director Benson and his leading male player, Jarvis, haven’t been able to find as many moods in Tom as the mercurial Cox did at the Taper. As a result, it’s difficult for us to understand what Kyra ever saw in him or, by extension, the political attitudes that he represents. We’re left a bit hungry, too.

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* “Skylight,” South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2:30 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Ends Feb. 28. $26-$43. (714) 708-5555. Running time: 2 hours, 22 minutes.

Cindy Katz: Kyra Hollis

Martin Jarvis: Tom Sergeant

Lars Carlson: Edward Sergeant

A South Coast Repertory production. Written by David Hare. Directed by Martin Benson. Set: John Iacovelli. Costumes: Alex Jaeger. Lights: Paulie Jenkins. Stage manager: Randall K. Lum.