"Constellations" by Nick Payne.
Nottingham Lace Market Theatre.
The first production of the New Year at the Nottingham Lace Market Theatre is a piece that, on paper, looks complicated and mind boggling, but fear not, I'd classify it as thought and discussion provoking.
Nick Payne's play won the 2012 Evening Standard Best New Play Award at the What's On Stage Awards of that year. It also made Payne the youngest recipient of the award at just twenty-one years old.
Two people, Roland, a bee keeper, and Marianne, a physicist, meet at a barbecue where they get chatting, get to know each other and become romantically involved. They move into their own little place and all goes well until an admission of infidelity forces them to break up.
Further down the line they meet again at a ballroom dance class and their romance resumes. They eventually marry but then life throws in a curveball which forces both to make difficult decisions.
If you've seen the film "Sliding Doors" you'll recognise the similarities of replayed scenes with alternative outcomes, which is where this clever play forces you to investigate what happens, or not as the case may be, within your own mind. It creates discussion as to which outcome you believe, and there will be no right or wrong results.
With every new scenario we also get to see the Roland and Marianne in a slightly different light, different emotions and differently nuanced responses and reactions.
The script is complex but is handled beautifully by this pair, who are new faces and names to the Lace Market Theatre, but have very credible and extensive acting CVs.
Ben Gilbert (Roland) and Ellen Woszatka (Marianne) skilfully slip on virtual masks for each sliding door moment as the story progresses. The scenes are pendulum like, swinging from comedy to anger to utter sadness. the only difference being that you can, in your own mind, choose the outcome from the choices presented to you as part of this play.
Directed by Chris Sims he, along with Ben and Ellen, make it seem as if we are flies on the wall, and simplifies the changes through simple light and sound changes.
The production is in the Studio upstairs, which lends itself to a simple set design, by Paul Johnson. The power of this story writing is that you don't need a set, just a couple of choice circular additions. You could argue these reflect the never-ending circle of thought, and in one particular scene, the large circle on the floor could also physically indicate at times that both characters are on opposite sides, but eventually come together. You need to see the play and hear the words to get the most of my analysis, I'm afraid!
The lighting design is by David Billen and sound design by Darren Coxon, as previously noted, separate the change in scenario, making it all easier to comprehend.
This play is one that you need to bring your listening ears to because there is a lot of script to take in, and as there are only two actors "on stage" all the way through, you can also appreciate that this is not one of the easiest to digest from an actor point of view, with some quick changes from one scenario to the next. This also calls for rapid emotional changes from both actors, both physical and delivery wise.
There's some lovely comic scenes, and both Ben and Ellen play some of the best, and most realistic drunken scenes which are not taken over the top, as I've seen some drunk scenes done in different plays, and taken the reality from them. Pitched perfectly. I also learned quite a bit about bees as well, but still lost on the Quantum Physics side of the script.
There's also a section of BSL (British Sign Language) which is fascinating to watch for anyone not fluent in this. The fluidity of this scene also shows that some actors also learn new skills for a play that maybe was unexpected. Whether Ben and Ellen knew BSL prior to "Constellation", I don't know, but they certainly looked as if they were fluent.
"Constellations" is at the Nottingham Lace Market Theatre until Saturday 14 January, but tickets are selling so fast for this production that they may be sold out as I type. But then in another parallel universe, they may not! Whatever, you'll leave the theatre wanting to discuss what you've just seen.
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