Read the review for the Suffolk Free Press of Constellations during its Quay Theatre run in July: further performances were held at the Headgate Theatre, Colchester.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone, that you replay in your head weeks afterwards? Said something embarrassing or hurtful to someone that you wish you could take back? What if, for every choice that you made, there was a separate, alternate universe, where you didn’t make that choice?
It was this conceit that the audience of Constellations, by Nick Payne, grappled with at the Quay Theatre on Tuesday night. Constellations tells the story of a couple, Marianne and Roland. Their story isn’t told in a strictly chronological fashion, however, with the story frequently jumping between the early days of their relationship – meetups in bars, spending their first night together – to the closing months of Marianne’s life. In addition, each scene is repeated multiple times, showing different perspectives, and different outcomes. Marianne and Roland’s first meeting, for instance, initially ends with them rejecting each other, but over multiple repeats of the same scene, we see them slowly get more confident, and gradually, suss each other out.
This formula is repeated throughout the play, and could certainly, in lesser hands, become tedious. However, under Darryl Crawley’s direction, this was never a concern. Creative blocking and carefully nuanced line delivery mean that each deviance makes a revisited scene feel new and fresh. The set, built by a team led by Adam Webster and Chris Wade, certainly drew the eye before the play started, with paper lanterns and geometric shapes surrounding a central dais, but by the same measure, did not distract from the heroic efforts of Constellations’ actors.
As Constellations features only two actors, each with a gargantuan number of lines to learn, the production is split into two casts, with each cast performing on alternate nights of their five-night run at the Quay. Duties for the opening night fell to Julie Ford and Clive Clark, both of whom gave us something special. Clive Clark played Roland with charm and wholesome earnestness, perfectly matched by Julie Ford’s biting comic timing as Marianne. Constellations veers from silly to sorrowful from scene to scene, and Ford and Clark navigate these swings with class and control. Both actors have undeniable chemistry, and this makes the plays later, more tragic scenes, hit all the harder. Ford particularly has no weaknesses, perfectly comfortable both portraying Marianne’s drunkenly passionate explanation of quantum mechanics, and the vulnerable frailty of her illness.
Constellations is by no means an easy play to watch. Despite its lighter moments, the play does deal with heavy themes including terminal illness, free will, and assisted dying. This, combined with the play’s non-chronological structure, make it both a cognitive and emotionally challenging experience. Constellations’ cast and crew, however, have certainly risen to its challenges, and if you’re up for the challenge too, then I highly recommend that you don’t miss out.
By Matthew Byham