Breathe. No, really, breathe!

That’s the direction given to the characters on stage in the latest production from Really Really Theatre Group, but it could just as easily be a direction given to the audience members.

What starts innocently enough as a conversation between a couple in an Ikea check-out line, quickly turns into a torrent of words followed by a wave of anxiety that has both the characters in the play and the audience reeling. 

In “Lungs,” the suddenly momentous conversation centers around life. Specifically, the idea of bringing a new life into this world and what that would mean for the couple and the planet we all inhabit.

Outside of Ikea and in the couple’s apartment, the conversation continues at a disquieting pace. Still in search of that moment when they can catch a breath and move on, the couple finally settles into a more lucid rhythm as they begin to discuss, and even become excited about the possibility of having a baby together.

Sure, there are still concerns. They are, after all, a young, progressive couple who care deeply about the planet. Just think of the carbon footprint alone that a new child brings into this world.

But hey, they’re good people – they read books, watch documentaries, eschew Starbucks and other corporate entities, and they make sure not to continuously run the water when they brush their teeth. On top of all of that, they “tweet out all the right articles!”

On the precipice of navel gaze, the couple manages to avert that danger with enough self-awareness as they increasingly become more comfortable in their decision to move forward with bringing a new life into this world.

With plenty of time now to breathe, idealism makes way for reality as insecurities, in-laws, and infidelities threaten the very nucleus of this soon to be family.

The couple’s conversations and introspections are not uncharted; especially for today’s privileged, young urban professionals – the particular class on which the play is set.

Although decades pass at a breakneck speed in this cradle to grave saga, it remains intimate, and in the end, genuinely human.

“Lungs” by Duncan Macmillan plays through August 31 at 12^th Avenue Arts.  Directed by Henry Nettleton, the couple is played by Arjun Pande (M) and Erika Vetter (W). Tickets are tiered pricing starting at $20, with really-really.org offering 20 free tickets before each performance.