Constellations

Emma Palmer and Sam O’Sullivan. Image by Gez Xavier Mansfield. 

What would happen if key moments in our lives played out in a slightly different way? Each day, we are faced with decisions about what we do, how we interact with others, the chances we should take and those which we’re happy to let go of. The wealth of imagined possibilities forms the key premise of Constellations, a 2012 play by Nick Payne which is currently running in the Eternity Playhouse.

Constellations opens with its main characters, Marianne and Roland, meeting for the first time at a barbeque. Marianne, a quantum physicist, strikes up a conversation with beekeeper Roland, only for him to bluntly tell her that he’s in a relationship. However, in a parallel with the multiverse theory which Marianne later explains to Roland, each conversation and meeting is given numerous possibilities. In this opening scene, the ending, intonations and dialogue changes slightly each time, until Marianne and Roland end up as a couple. This pattern continues throughout, with both characters slipping seemlessly between takes. Their relationship is one that’s at once simple and loving or breathtakingly complicated, depending on the scene you’re watching. The couple encounter a number of hurdles along the way and the audience are invited to view these through a range of scenarios. By the time it ends, there are more than a few moist eyes in the house.

Payne’s script is ingenius, with snappy dialogue and compelling characters. If there’s one criticism, it’s that each scene is repeated several times in its entirety, creating a pattern which, once established, leaves the audience waiting for each subtle change. In the hands of a poor director and cast this could be tedious, but this certainly isn’t the case here. Emma Palmer puts in one of the performances of the year, bringing every take to life in a slightly different way. Sam O’ Sullivan is also strong, although a British ear might detect the occasional falter in his accent. The simple lighting and sound design, coupled with a stripped back set which consists of just a shallow riser and chair also emphasises the great dialogue and raw subject matter.

Constellations is a play which deals with relationships, death, sex and love in a fashion that swings between humourous and deeply touching. Combined with the stunning setting of the Eternity Playhouse and Anthony Skuse’s talented directing style, this is a show with the power to send tingles through spines, reminding us of our own mortality and the relevance of each everyday moment in our lives.