Russell Tovey and Omari Douglas star in this brilliant version of Nick Payne’s two-hander at the Vaudeville Theatre, directed by Michael Longhurst.
Constellations is an excellent play, but it’s one that takes a bit of explaining. It doesn’t simply tell the story of lovers Roland (Russell Tovey) and Emmanuel (Omari Douglas) – rather it considers their multiple possible stories. It’s a play that asks the “what if?” question a hundred times over – all of the scenes play out several times with slight alterations, each one throwing the pair on a different trajectory. Not content with presenting various possibilities in this couple’s multiverse, the show is playing over the summer with different pairs – we previously reviewed Constellations starring Peter Capaldi and Zoe Wanamaker – it’s an incredible concept and without doubt an outstanding theatrical achievement.
We were curious to see how the text might land differently – the version we saw earlier in the summer presented a heterosexual white couple, and we wondered whether the same words may resonate differently when performed by an interracial gay couple. To be honest – we were surprised by just how similar the two versions were. This is because Constellations is not specifically a play about a straight couple, or a gay couple, but rather about human connections and interactions, and how we behave and react in different situations.
We observed a couple of differences, including a fairly innocent-sounding line asking whether one of the men wanted to come inside raised a bigger laugh in this new context. Our biggest takeaway, however, was just how much more we identified with these characters – we warmed to them immediately and their story arc resonated more closely with our own experiences. Initial awkwardly-clipped conversations played out like a Grindr exchange; difficult dialogue exploring whether or not one of the guys should stay the night felt like our own experiences.
The post Queer retelling of Constellations is an outstanding theatrical achievement – review appeared first on GAY TIMES.
Queer retelling of Constellations is an outstanding theatrical achievement – review
Russell Tovey and Omari Douglas star in this brilliant version of Nick Payne’s two-hander at the Vaudeville Theatre, directed by Michael Longhurst.
Constellations is an excellent play, but it’s one that takes a bit of explaining. It doesn’t simply tell the story of lovers Roland (Russell Tovey) and Emmanuel (Omari Douglas) – rather it considers their multiple possible stories. It’s a play that asks the “what if?” question a hundred times over – all of the scenes play out several times with slight alterations, each one throwing the pair on a different trajectory. Not content with presenting various possibilities in this couple’s multiverse, the show is playing over the summer with different pairs – we previously reviewed Constellations starring Peter Capaldi and Zoe Wanamaker – it’s an incredible concept and without doubt an outstanding theatrical achievement.
We were curious to see how the text might land differently – the version we saw earlier in the summer presented a heterosexual white couple, and we wondered whether the same words may resonate differently when performed by an interracial gay couple. To be honest – we were surprised by just how similar the two versions were. This is because Constellations is not specifically a play about a straight couple, or a gay couple, but rather about human connections and interactions, and how we behave and react in different situations.
We observed a couple of differences, including a fairly innocent-sounding line asking whether one of the men wanted to come inside raised a bigger laugh in this new context. Our biggest takeaway, however, was just how much more we identified with these characters – we warmed to them immediately and their story arc resonated more closely with our own experiences. Initial awkwardly-clipped conversations played out like a Grindr exchange; difficult dialogue exploring whether or not one of the guys should stay the night felt like our own experiences.
The post Queer retelling of Constellations is an outstanding theatrical achievement – review appeared first on GAY TIMES.
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