Constellations (play)

Constellations is a two-hander play by the English playwright Nick Payne.

Productions

Constellations premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in January 2012, with Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins in the lead roles and direction by Michael Longhurst.^[1] The play received strong reviews from critics and subsequently transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End in November 2012.^[2] The reviewer for The Guardian wrote "For all its teasing razzle-dazzle, though, it is the human warmth of the writing and acting that ensures the play never slides into tricksiness."^[3] In November 2012 Constellations was named the winner of the best play category at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, making the 29-year-old Payne the youngest winner of the award.^[4] The play will tour the UK, starting in May 2015 at Woking's New Victoria Theatre.^[5]

The play premiered on Broadway in a Manhattan Theatre Club production at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on January 13, 2015 and closed on 15 March 2015. The cast starred Jake Gyllenhaal (in his Broadway debut) and Ruth Wilson.^[6] Ruth Wilson received a nomination for the 2015 Tony Award, Best Performance By a Leading Actress in a Play.^[7] The play received three Drama League Award nominations: Best Play, Best Actor, Gyllenhaal, and Best Actress, Wilson.^[8] A production opened on February 10, 2016 at the Boise Contemporary Theater in Boise, ID, running through March 5, and starring Dwayne Blackaller and Tiara Thompson and directed by Tracy Sunderland.

In January 2013 Payne revealed that a film adaptation was under way.^[9] That plan has since been shelved.

Publication

Several versions of the play have been published in the United Kingdom and the United States.^[10][11]

References