Darlinghurst Theatre Company presents the Sydney Premiere of Nick Payne’s Constellations – an explosive, head in the stars comedy about love, fate and free will, at the Eternity Playhouse from 8 August.
Multiverse theory is explored through the infinite possibilities of a single relationship. Roland meets Marianne at a barbeque. She’s a physicist, he’s a beekeeper. They are an unlikely match, but this is not your average boy-meets-girl love story.
Director Anthony Skuse is thrilled to bring this production to Sydney for the first time before it premieres on Broadway in January starring Oscar-nominated actor, Jake Gyllenhaal. “The play’s structure is like a musical suite or a fugue; two characters dance around various moments in their relationship. Each moment is played with differing outcomes and the cumulative effect is very moving,” he said.
“The first time I read the play in my backyard, I felt as if the air was knocked out of me. To be presented with so many variations allowed me to imagine the broader consequences of my own life-choices. It was as if the blinkers that allow me to focus on the now had been removed and a multiplicity of horizons opened up.”
Emma Palmer (War Horse, Playschool) and Sam O’Sullivan (The Removalists, Capture the Flag) star in this two-hander, widely considered to be one of the most exciting new love stories of this generation.
A graduate of the Royal Court Young Writer’s Programme, Nick Payne is a British playwright who studied at the University of York and subsequently at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His plays include: If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet which won the George Devine Award; Wanderlust; The Same Deep Water As Me, Blurred Lines and The Art of Dying.
Constellations opened at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2012 to rave reviews before moving to the West-End later that year. It won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play, making Payne the youngest playwright to win the award at 29.
“If I see a more ingenious, touching and intellectually searching play than Constellations this year, I will count myself very lucky. Nick Payne’s drama lasts just over an hour but packs in more than most shows manage in three times that length.” – The Telegraph (UK)
Director: Anthony Skuse Featuring: Sam O’Sullivan, Emma Palmer Production Designer: Gerald Xavier Mansfield Lighting Designer: Sara Swersky Sound Designer: Marty Jamieson
Constellations
Eternity Playhouse, 39 Burton Street, Darlinghurst
Season: 8 August – 7 September 2014
Bookings: (02) 8356 9987 or online at: www.darlinghursttheatre.com
For more information, visit: www.darlinghursttheatre.com for details.
Image: Emma Palmer and Sam O’Sullivan – photo by Helen White