Constellations dazzles at Pieter Toerien Theatre

Everything you’ve ever and never done exists simultaneously in an infinitely varied reality, Marianne explains to Roland. They are in her apartment after a date. She is a quantum physicist. He is a bee keeper.

Marianne’s explanation strikes a chord of connection between the unlikely pair, and this date is the beginning of a long, loving relationship.

Or is it? The lights flicker, the scene shifts slightly, and the conversation plays out again. Marianne and Roland are in her apartment after a date. But Marianne is uncomfortable. She’s had a lovely evening, she says, but she’s changed her mind, and she’d like Roland to leave.

Constellations is the story of the relationship between Marianne and Roland, from their first meeting at a rainy barbeque to love, infidelity, marriage and death. In many ways, it is a predictable, average relationship.

But even in the mundane lie infinite possibilities.

Every significant moment in the lives of Marianne and Roland plays out over and over, revealing the myriad possible outcomes of every interaction.

Now reaching South Africa for the first time, Constellations made playwright Nick Payne the youngest recipient of the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play in 2012. It featured on the West End, and in December will star Jake Gyllenhaal in his Broadway debut.

At the Pieter Toerien Theatre, Alan Swerdlow directs two familiar faces of South African theatre. Much-fêted actress, playwright and producer Janna Ramos-Violante, as quirky, brittle Marianne, performs opposite an easygoing Roland played by Ashely Dowds, whose extensive theatre resume augments his reputation as a continuity presenter and soap opera star.

Together Ramos-Violante and Dowds show themselves to be more than equal to a complicated plot and a rapidly shifting script. The performances are confident and unfaltering, and the characters utterly convincing, in a slick and compelling production.

Playful, hilarious, and tragic, Constellations is a poignant and intelligent exploration of the multiverse theory through the lens of a single relationship.

Details: Showing at Pieter Toerien Studio Theatre, 8 August until 28 September. Tickets cost R150.