Atmospheric, thunder, lightning, overgrown garden, wonderful lighting, sun coming up, “By the Waters of Babylon” is a dark tale of “two friends, in the dark, telling stories to keep the shadows away.” You do not know why.

Catherine (Suzanne Bouchard) and Arturo (Armando Duran) meet when she is looking for someone to tame her neglected garden. He asks her what she would like to have. She answers, “Something between Versailles and Central Park.”

Arturo is a Cuban exile and Catherine is a widow being shunned by her neighbors; “unclean” is how she puts it. They are each exiled due to their own actions but each reaches out to break this isolation.

As Arturo cleans up the garden, Catherine brings out a bucket of beer for them and they get to know each other. Arturo tells stories of the Havana beaches and embarcadero and Catherine tells stories of her fear of snakes and a childhood cabin in Tennessee. He tells her of mojitos and Cuban dancing and Catholicized African gods, as she goes to bring out the makings of a festive mint-rum drink.

Then the confidences really fly.

Each one is in exile as a consequence of decisions they have made and the decisions to open up to one another is the crux of the play. As the layers of protective coloration come off, they begin to bond. They finally strip away the layers of exile and forgive themselves and each other.

The script by Richard Schenkkan, who won a Pulitzer Prize for “The Kentucky Cycle,” has plenty of quips by a self-protected Catharine as she deflects real concern. Director Richard Seyd draws the subtleties from both of the actors and delivers a powerful presentation.

Michael Ganio’s layered set is marvelous. As the play opens, the pair has to step over and around plants to find a footing in the garden. In the next scene, the overgrown area has been slid out to show the results of the work. In the second act, the garden fence becomes a bedroom wall with an opening window. When Arturo is finally able to write again, look for the writing on the rippling waves.

The lighting by York Kennedy with leaf cutout screens provides the shifting leaf shapes of an impending storm, then the lightning and the rising sun. It was beautifully done.

“By the Waters of Babylon” runs through March 2 at Seattle Repertory Theatre. For tickets and information, call the box office seven days a week at (877) 900-9285 or go online at www.seaattlerep.org.