Following critically acclaimed, sold-out runs in the West End and on Broadway, Nick Payne’s explosive play about free will and friendship returns to London for a strictly limited season following its first national tour.
Starring Louise Brealey (Sherlock) and Joe Armstrong (Happy Valley), and directed by the award-winning Michael Longhurst (Carmen Disruption, A Number), Constellations is a beautiful portrayal of one relationship and infinite possibilities.
It’s a play about small talk and big ideas. It’s about saying goodbye and about never having to say goodbye. It’s about the boundless potential of a connection between two people. It’s a heart-breaking love story of endless invention.
Don’t miss your opportunity to see this ‘funny, tender and startlingly original work’ (Daily Telegraph) from one of the most exciting new voices in theatre.
Running Time: 70 minutes without interval
“Ingenious and beautiful. Truly stellar.” Evening Standard*
“Genius. Powerful. Pitch-perfect.” The Daily Telegraph*
“Extraordinary. Dazzling.” Independent*
“Stars shine across the universe.” Guardian*
“It is brilliant. Extremely funny. Utterly heart-breaking.” Time Out*
Joe Armstrong plays Roland. He last appeared at the Royal Court in The Empire. His other stage credits include, most recently The Dumb Waiter (Print Room), Miss Julie (Royal Exchange), Flare Path (Haymarket), Orphans (Traverse/Soho) and A Night at the Dogs (Soho). On television, his credits include the BAFTA award-winning drama Happy Valley, The Village, The Hollow Crown: Henry IV pt 1 (directed by Richard Eyre), The Last Detective and Midsomer Murders. His film credits include Closer to the Moon and A Passionate Woman.
Louise Brealey plays Marianne. She last appeared at the Royal Court in Joe Penhall’s Birthday. Other work at the Royal Court includes Behind the Image, The Stone and Sliding With Suzanne. Her previous stage credits include, most recently Miss Julie (Citizens Theatre),The Herd (Bush) and The Trojan Women (The Gate). On television her credits include Sherlock, George Gently, Ripper Street, Father Brown and Bleak House. Her film credits include Heard and Delicious. Louise recently appeared in Letters Live alongside her Sherlock co-star Benedict Cumberbatch at London’s Freemasons’ Hall Covent Garden.
Nick Payne‘s  most recent plays at the Royal Court were The Art of Dying and Wanderlust. His other credits include Constellations in the West End and on Broadway, Incognito (HighTide Festival/Bush), Blurred Lines (The Shed NT), _The Same Deep Water As Me  (Donmar Warehouse) and If There Is I Haven’t Found it Yet (The Bush). He was the winner of the George Devine Award in 2009 and also a member of the Royal Court’s Young Writers Programme. Nick is currently playwright in residence at the Donmar Warehouse. He is currently adapting Julian Barnes’s The Sense Of An Ending_ for BBC Films and working on projects with Objective, Drama Republic and the BBC.
Michael Longhurst directs. Previously for the Royal Court he directed the original and recent Broadway production of Constellations and Remembrance Day. His other credits include Carmen Disruption (Almeida), Bad Jews (St James’s Theatre/ Arts), Tis Pity She’s A Whore (The Globe), A Number (Young Vic & Southampton), If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet (The Roundabout Theatre NY.), _Stovepipe  (HighTide/Bush), On The Beach _ (as part of The Contingency Plan at the Bush Theatre), On The Record  (Arcola), dirty butterfly (winner of the Jerwood Directors Award at the Young Vic), 1 In 5 (as part of Daring Pairings at Hampstead Theatre) and Fringe First Award winner for Guardians  at the Edinburgh Festival. He was a recipient of the Jerwood Directors Award (2007) at the Young Vic and a Fringe First in 2005.