Constellations – Darlinghurst Theatre Co

Overview

Constellations, written by Nick Payne and directed by Anthony Skuse for Darlinghurst Theatre Co, is a thing of complex beauty, taking place in several universes at once. On one level, atoms attract, repulse, collide and deviate. On another, a physicist, Marianne (Emma Palmer), and a beekeeper, Roland (Sam O’Sullivan), pit love and free will against scientific notions that all events are preordained.

For those of you still harried by memories of incomprehensible high school physics textbooks, fear not; this is by no means 'A Brief History of Time: The Play'. Constellations is a love story, but one which refuses to afford love the status of a cure-all. Although the characters find themselves in varying states of love throughout the play, they are also plagued by questions of an existential nature.

Constellations revolves around the theory that for every choice or action there is an alternate universe in which the opposite outcome occurs. Consequently, when Marianne meets Roland at a barbecue, the audience witnesses not one but several iterations of the encounter, with each version tracing a different path and creating further possibilities. As the play continues, so do these glimpses into other worlds slightly skewed by the variables of each scene.

In his director’s note, Skuse remarks at the delightful incongruity of performing a play so steeped in scientific theory in an old church. The set and lighting designers have taken full advantage of the surroundings. The sparseness of the stage — a raised platform, and a couple of chairs — encourages the audience to drink in the fading opulence of the surrounding space. All of the action takes place under blue light and a peeling painted banner proclaiming ‘Reverence and Sanctuary’. Reflections in the stained-glass windows add countless alternate realities to those presented on stage.

Constellations bagged Payne the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play upon its release in Britain in 2012 and it has garnered much acclaim since then. However, as a play that not only ventures into other dimensions but also jumps around in time, this script is a monster and one which requires some seriously good actors to wrangle it. Palmer is fantastic as Marianne; her ability to swap seamlessly between chaotic exuberance and desperate fragility makes for a rock-solid performance which seems to fill the space effortlessly. O’Sullivan, despite having less to work with, plays a credible Roland. His oscillation between quiet strength and ‘arsey’ indignation provides a nice contrast to Palmer.

Constellations is an intriguing collection of conundrums scientific, existential and emotional. It is powerful and innovative and it would be a shame to let your multiverse doppelganger be the one who chooses to go and see it instead of you.

Image by Gez Xavier Mansfield.