Persephone Theatre opens 49th season with time-bending love story

Under a sky full of abstract kites, with no one else on stage but them, Vicky and Erica meet, fall in love, and build a future — not necessarily in that order.

Bright Half Life, which kicked off Persephone Theatre’s 2023-24 season on Wednesday and will run until Oct. 1, tells Vicky and Erica’s story as a collection of memories scattered throughout their relationship.

“It keeps you on your toes,” said director Kathryn Smith. “It challenges the audience to try and track the clues to figure out where and when we are in time.

“And at its core, it’s a love story.”

The story jumps between Vicky and Erica’s meet-cute and fairground dates to their marriage and children, fights and reconnections, jobs and families, skydiving lessons, and a future where the enduring love between them may be the only certain thing.