REVIEW: CONSTELLATIONS by Nick Payne at Drayton Arms Theatre 1 – 4 May 2024

'a fine, energetic, honest presentation of an outstanding play’ ★★★★

Nick Payne’s play “Constellations” isn’t really all that complicated: two people meet at a barbecue, move in together, split up due to the infidelity of one of them, get back together at a ballroom dancing class, marry, and then have to deal with the consequences of terminal cancer and assisted suicide. Not complicated at all. That is, until Nick Payne introduces quantum uncertainty, the multi-worlds paradigm, metaphorical and actual bees, and a structure that runs and re-runs scenes with changing outcomes and makes the characteristics of his two characters slippery and hard to define. Because, I would suggest, Nick Payne is more interested in the problem of definition than he is in the problems of two little people. Consequently, the two parts can be assigned to a traditionally gendered couple that’s gay or straight or uncommitted, it all adds to the quantum uncertainty.

The very young, very talented group of actors that make up Burnt Orange Theatre’s ensemble cast play every variation to the hilt, mixing and matching, echoing lines and gestures, swapping partners – it could make a complicated production hard to follow, but they trust the script, they trust the narrative drive, they make their relationship statuses apparent, and they give the poetry and the emotion full value. The director’s choice that felt slightly out of place was the decision to give the same two actors almost all the scenes relating to illness and end-of-life choices. These are probably the toughest scenes to play emotionally, but the opportunity to develop a character, ably managed by Florence Chevallier and Kaci Kerwick, was an opportunity not available to the rest of the cast, who had to deal with much more fractured lines of development. So it’s a bit mean singling out Ms’ses Chevallier and Kerwick for praise, because everyone did very well, but they presented the heart of the piece.

It's a fine, energetic, honest presentation of an outstanding play, it’s a very young, very talented cast, it’s an interesting and engaging piece of direction, and it’s an excellent evening’s theatre.

On till 4^th May.

Produced by Burnt Orange Theatre

CONSTELLATIONS by Nick Payne at Drayton Arms Theatre 1 – 4 May 2024

Box Office: http://www.draytonarmstheatre.co.uk/constellations

Reviewed by Chris Lilly