However, it is not political, but rather exposes the tyranny of our own passions and the exile we often experience as a result of our own actions. I felt shades of Medea in this story.

Purgatory has been around as a concept for hundreds of years. Some believe it is a place where we go when we die to atone for our sins and to prepare us to someday enter heaven. Others see it as a concept or a metaphor for the meting out of some sort of justice based on the kind of life we've led.

Despite its amorphous nature, purgatory is probably around to stay, unlike limbo, which recently was relegated to a place similar to its name. People seem to have an inherent need to see justice served somewhere, because it is so seldom served here.

In this two-person play, we meet a nameless man and a woman, both of whom play two roles. The setting is a bit vague, but it suggests a prison or a mental hospital where a psychiatrist and a patient confront each other.

The man and woman switch roles as the play proceeds. In one scene, the man is the therapist or questioner; in the next, he's being interviewed. At times, a camera is switched on to record the session for future evaluation by a panel of experts or judges. The camera appears like another character.

In the process of the conversation, we discover much about the lives and characters of these "clients" and how each affected the other's life. They came from two very different cultures, were once married to each other and had two sons.

What intrigues us during this tense 90-minute drama is where are these people, will they ever get out, what will it take to get out and where will they go if they are given their freedom?

Forgiveness as the key to redemption is at the heart of this drama - both forgiveness of ourselves and of others - a very challenging task, maybe an impossible one for some of the wrongs we suffer.

We are fascinated and sometimes horrified with their stories. We sympathize even as we are appalled. We're not always sure of the veracity of their narratives, we question and judge and we wonder whose side we're on. The story plays with our emotions and throws us into confusion. We leave without any real resolve.

Angela Iannone and David Cecsarini jolt us with their wrenching performances.

Mary MacDonald Kerr deserves credit for her incisive direction. The lighting by the ubiquitous Jason Fassl and set design by David Cecsarini both add to the eeriness of inhabiting this netherworld.

This is an experience you won't soon forget. If you like intellectual challenges and emotional turmoil, put "Purgatorio" on your list.

"Purgatorio" can be seen at the Off-Broadway Theatre, 342 N. Water St., Milwaukee.