Constellations - Vaudeville Theatre

[david]

Having supposed to be at a completely different show tonight which got cancelled a few days ago, I had a wander up to the Vauderville theatre this afternoon to see if any tickets remained for tonight’s show with Shelia Atim and Ivanno Jeremiah. Thanks to the box office staff, I managed to pick up a half price premium ticket in the stalls. Having only booked for PC and ZM for Tuesday night, based on board members really positive reviews who have seen the SA and IJ version, I grabbed the ticket and after the 70 minutes or so I am so glad I made the last minute decision.

The chemistry from the two actors really worked for me as the relationship of the two characters unfolded in its different forms. With a nice mix humour and more emotional depth at times, SA for me was just sensational and worth the ticket price alone.

With a fantastic lighting design Lee Curran and set design from Tom Scutt, this version really kept me entertained and it will be interesting to compare it with the PC/ZM version in a few days time to see if I get the same enjoyment that I got this evening.

[david]

One play with two different pairings and ultimately two completely different viewing experiences. Having seen the SA / IJ pairing Sunday night and throughly enjoyed the play and really engaged with the production, having now seen the PC/ZW version this evening, this pairing for me didn’t work and was a real slog to get through the same text. I just couldn’t engage with this version at all. I just didn’t get any sense of chemistry between PC and ZW’s characters and therefore wasn’t invested in the relationship or how it unfolded in the different time frames in the slightest.

PC, who I’ll admit I originally booked to see was great and came across well with plenty of humour and energy. However it was ZW who I couldn’t take to. Having seen her in other things (most recently in First Ladies at the Bridge) and enjoyed her performances previously, in this I just felt the performance lacked both the humour and emotional depth that the role required and came across with SA / IJ. As as been mentioned previously, I think having two older actors for me didn’t work without altering the original text to take the age difference into account.

Ultimately I think getting the last minute ticket for the SA / IJ version now was a good decision as if I hadn’t, I think just seeing the PC / ZM version would of left me feeling frustrated at knowing how much better a viewing experience the play could have been.

[andrew]

Jul 13, 2021 20:36:15 GMT david said:

One play with two different pairings and ultimately two completely different viewing experiences. Having seen the SA / IJ pairing Sunday night and throughly enjoyed the play and really engaged with the production, having now seen the PC/ZW version this evening, this pairing for me didn’t work and was a real slog to get through the same text. I just couldn’t engage with this version at all. I just didn’t get any sense of chemistry between PC and ZW’s characters and therefore wasn’t invested in the relationship or how it unfolded in the different time frames in the slightest.

PC, who I’ll admit I originally booked to see was great and came across well with plenty of humour and energy. However it was ZW who I couldn’t take to. Having seen her in other things (most recently in First Ladies at the Bridge) and enjoyed her performances previously, in this I just felt the performance lacked both the humour and emotional depth that the role required and came across with SA / IJ. As as been mentioned previously, I think having two older actors for me didn’t work without altering the original text to take the age difference into account.

Ultimately I think getting the last minute ticket for the SA / IJ version now was a good decision as if I hadn’t, I think just seeing the PC / ZM version would of left me feeling frustrated at knowing how much better a viewing experience the play could have been.

It's funny how Zoe Wanamaker just hasn't connected with this play at all. I hate going after actors as they're the most visible piece of a large group of peoples efforts to put on a play, but so many reviewers have commented on how she's the weak link in any of the pairings we've seen so far. 

[caa]

Saw it last night with PC and ZW, good to see it again but sad to say I have to agree that it didn't quite connect with me in the same way that Sally Hawkins and
Rafe Spall pairing did, the PC and ZW pairing were ok but it feels like a different play with them.

[irisjeregenboog]

I saw this last week with Sheila Atim and Ivanno Jeremiah and I feel like it should be talked about more, because it took my breath away! So this is me bumping the thread of this amazing play!

I was on a theatre trip to London and saw 7 shows, but this was by far the standout. Basing myself on the comments of this board, I booked a last-minute, spontaneous ticket to this show with the SA/IJ pairing. Apart from the blurb, I didn't know anything about this show, BUT I am a scientist (yay! not quantum physics though :s ) and I have been wanting to get into 'science plays' for a long time. I love the idea of combining science and theatre (and still keeping it entertaining and not down-your-throat-educational), so I was really curious to see how this would play out.

As I said: it took my breath away. What a delight. Sheila Atim is SO GOOD. And the chemistry between her and Ivanno worked really well. Some personal highlights (with some SPOILERS if you haven't seen it yet!):
- licking elbow scene. Brilliant. Physical comedy in a straight science play. Of course! Why not combine it.
- the proposal scenes: Roland's time to shine and shine he does. One of my favourite repeated scenes. I also loved the fact that the anticipation of the audience was slowly building - will she ever say yes?! Excellently done!
- the sign language scene. This literally took my breath away and I just stared in awe with my mouth hanging open trying not to blink (thank god I had a mask on )

I am now 100% convinced that 'science' plays are in fact a thing I like and I want to go back and see the other pairings interpret the play in their own way. I am especially excited about the gay couple!! I also desperately want to buy and read the script (so I need to do that when I go next) and I would love to explore more of Nick Payne's plays. I am a new fan girl! Does anyone have any idea if/when/where some of his other plays are staged?

5/5 stars!

PS: in my quest towards science plays, Oleanna is also on my list for later in the summer. Have already read that script and I am SO curious to see how it is done on stage!!

[cavocado]

I'm not a scientist but am also interested in seeing more science plays. Lucy Kirkwood has written at least a couple, The Children (about a nuclear power station disaster) and Mosquitoes (set at CERN). The latter is on NT@Home.

I really liked Nick Payne's Elegy, about the ethics of a technology to cure brain damage. There was radio version on a few months ago, unfortunately no longer on BBC Sounds, but perhaps it will be repeated sometime. I saw Constellations a few years ago (Louise Brealey and Joe Armstrong) and also heard it on the radio (double bill with Elegy), so was going to give the current production a miss, but I am very tempted by the great reviews for the Atim/Jeremiah pairing.

[couldileaveyou]

[cavocado]

I'm glad I took note of the recommendations here and saw Atim/Jeremiah while I had the chance. Outstanding performances from both of them - great chemistry, humour and emotional depth. I wasn't aware of either actor from previous work, but will look out for them in future. I saw the touring production a few years ago and enjoyed it a lot, but I don't remember the transitions between scenes being as cleverly done as this. I'm keen to see one of the remaining two pairings for comparison.

It's interesting, having been slightly bored by Under Milk Wood's lack of much visual appeal, that this is performed on a platform that takes up maybe a third of the area of the stage, with no scenery or props (apart from lots of balloons), just the actors moving together and apart, standing up, sitting down, occasionally touching, dancing, etc. But it was far more visually interesting and compelling than UMW and had so much more to offer than the radio version broadcast a few weeks ago.

[Deleted]

Any reports on Tovey and Douglas?

[partytentdown]

Aug 6, 2021 12:05:43 GMT @stevena said:

Any reports on Tovey and Douglas?

Yes, both really great and very interesting to see with a same gender couple. Very little changed other than one of the character names.

[Jon]

I've booked for Tovey and Douglas but would be interested in seeing Anna Maxwell Martin and Chris O'Dowd.

[Mark]

Saw Tovey and Douglas at the 5:30 matinee today and they were both great. The play I wasn’t too taken with if I’m honest though.

[theoracle]

Was also at the show today with Russel and Omari and agree they were both wonderful with great chemistry. Good diverse mix in the audience too and they got plenty of laughs as well.

[MrBraithwaite]

Already decided to see this combination, but then read the play and was very disappointed by it after hearing about the stellar reviews of the original production. Found very little in it, scientific or emotional and doubt, even two great actors could bring this to life for me. Sometimes happens, I'll just give it a pass.

[Jon]

Who'd thought a two person play at just over 70 minutes could pack so much in that timeframe. I admit that I only really booked Constellations because I'm a fan of Russell Tovey and enjoyed Omari Douglas in It's A Sin but I'm glad I did because I enjoyed seeing how Nick Payne's concept of the multiple universes unfold even if it does take a few minutes to get used to.

The theatre was full with only a handful of empty seats which was good to see with a diverse crowd.

[mrnutz]

I saw this last night with Anna Maxwell Martin and Chris O'Dowd, and thought it (and they!) were fantastic.

I haven't seen it before and went in knowing very little about it, but now I wish I'd booked for an additional pairing to see how differently they played it.

[Dave B]

We saw this with Anna Maxwell Martin and Chris O'Dowd last night.

We had been just over a month ago to see Peter Capaldi and Zoë Wanamaker. We both enjoyed the play but felt there was a distance between the characters, both actors were individually great but between them there was such a gap that we had no investment at all. It was still funny and the BSL scene hit hard and we enjoyed it but walking towards the train we both agreed that we had never been brought into the play, we had watched PC and ZW acting for an hour and a bit.

I don't want to be harsh on PC and ZW as we really did enjoy the play and that evening.... but last night wow.

Within seconds, we weren't watching AMM and CO'D, we were watching Roland and Marianne. They were funny, they were connected, it was almost like seeing a different play. They had such engagement with each other, much more physical - just with casual touches or reaching towards each other. It was funny, it was touching. Even knowing it was coming, the BSL scene hit (tho a balloon making an unplanned escape could have picked a better moment!). Much amusement from AMM and CO'D during the curtain call as they spotted the escaped balloon now tied to a chair in the front row.

I have no idea what if anything goes on between cast members, so it is not even speculation but it felt like one version was two actors doing a job with someone they just had to work with and maybe didn't get on with and another version with two actors who genuinely liked each other and were having some fun working together. The contrast was stark.

[Jon]

I wonder if the fact that the play is written for a younger pairing in mind means that it's not quite as effective with an older pairing.

[floorshow]

Saw the matinee today, not seen any of the other casts but thought they were a great pairing, loads of chemistry.
Strange structure to set up the sliding doors first half and then narrow the focus so much in the second half.
No misbehaved balloons, sadly.

[Steve]

Saw this with Russell Tovey and Omari Douglas, and thought it was fantastic!

Some spoilers follow. . .

I would have loved to have seen every version of this, but time and money have dictated that the Tovey-Douglas version is the first time I have seen this since I was wowed by this at the Royal Court.

Omari Douglas is wonderful, bringing a sleek dynamism to the part of Manuel, infusing him with tremendous brio but also with surprising sensitivity.

But it is Russell Tovey who makes this version incredibly special.

While Douglas plays one character tossed and turned sideways by a multiverse of possibilities, Tovey plays the entire multiverse of characters that one man might become with different backstories. This makes the play exciting, more surprising scene to scene, and consequently funnier, since surprise is the keystone of laughter.

Leaping between dull and intelligent, slow and quick-witted, thuggish and gentle, thoughtful and ditsy versions of himself, Tovey embodies all the possibility of life that is the central theme of the play, illuminating our sense of all the different versions of ourselves we could have been and still might be. It is funny to think how different we could have been, and moving to contemplate who we actually are, while we continue to morph with each and every experience.

A great play made greater by casting an actor who embodies it's humour, it's possibilities and it's depth.

For me, 5 stars.

[lynette]

I have not managed to see this in real life, hoping for filmed /tv manifestation sometime but I am happy you guys have enjoyed it and am delighted that they did the different combos. I said yonks ago that this was excellent theatre and kept going on about it to certain others but I feared it would just disappear like so much good stuff does. Anyway, great, carry on!

[Jon]

I admit the bit where

SPOILER: Click to show

Tovey as Roland does the Bee speech in very different ways was fantastic to watch, I was crying with laughter when he did the rap/grime version

[sophie92]

Aug 21, 2021 17:26:09 GMT Jon said:

I admit the bit where

SPOILER: Click to show

Tovey as Roland does the Bee speech in very different ways was fantastic to watch, I was crying with laughter when he did the rap/grime version

Same!

[Jon]

Out of interest, does the bit I've mentioned in the spoilers happen in the same way with the other pairings.

[sophie92]

Aug 21, 2021 18:04:54 GMT Jon said:

Out of interest, does the bit I've mentioned in the spoilers happen in the same way with the other pairings.

Under a spoiler just in case:

SPOILER: Click to show

Not with Anna Maxwell Martin and Chris O’Dowd. I didn’t see the other two pairings.