Bright Half Life
by Tanya Barfield

"Bright Half Life, a sixty-five minute chronicle of a deeply committed lesbian relationship, is contemporary as a play could be, but the theme is classic and timeless. Legal gay marriage has occupied merely a nanosecond of our existence, but the presentation of the highs and lows of coupledom, as exampled in this piece, defy the ages."

— Huffington Post

"This well-written portrayal of smart women finding, losing and finding themselves and each other again is profound… Past, present and future are contained in each moment, and every one of them feels full."

— The New Yorker

"Most relationships develop in one of two ways – they endure or they don’t. Ms. Barfield’s variegated structure complicates this simple either/or, showing the volatility in a long-term partnership, the joy and desolation, the hurt and help – all intermingled, all at once. If these women, these maybe soulmates, could somehow suddenly see what the years will bring, would they still go out on that first date?"

— The New York Times

"It may sound fatalistic to accept that every relationship has a half life – that true love is not an infinite resource destined to endure for eternity. It certainly defies the institution of marriage, whose romantic reputation hinges on this concept of ‘foreverness.’ True, it’s no fairy tale story, but Tanya Barfield’s new two-hander Bright Half Life sacrifices none of its head-over-heels romance, even as its central couple spirals towards extinction."

— TheaterMania