By BRUCE DENNILL
Nick Payne’s Constellations, presented by How Now Brown Cow Productions, runs at The Baxter Studio in Cape Town and the Theatre On The Square in Johannesburg. Directed by Jay Pather (The Firebird; Bridling; Hold Still; Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre), Constellations is a spellbinding exploration of love, choices quantum theory, and infinite possibility for heartbreak or for hope. Through a kaleidoscope of moments between two people, it asks what might happen if every version of our lives existed at once – and whether love can endure across them all. The cast features Mark Elderkin (Amadeus; Speelgoed van Glas/The Glass Menagerie; A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Mwenya Kabwe (Hold Still; Yellowman; mAnJE! MaNje (an epic)).
Marianne, a physicist, and Roland, a beekeeper, meet at a barbeque. They hit it off, and go for a drink. Or perhaps they don’t. They go home together, or maybe they go their separate ways. Perhaps Marianne is engaged to someone else, perhaps Roland is. Maybe she breaks his heart, maybe he breaks hers. Perhaps they come together and their love story can finally take root and grow, or perhaps it will be tragically cut short.
Kabwe chats about her involvement with the production.
In the lead-up to a new production, how do you prepare: physically, mentally, emotionally?
I have my regular gym time each week, which helps to keep me physically on the ball, and I try and stay organised about the rest of my life so that I can keep the focus needed on the show prep. This is not always easy with a family and a day job, but I do find that I can get into a more strict routine with myself when I am in rehearsal.
What is the single most influential performance you’ve ever seen – the one that made you feel: “This is what I want to do with my life!”?
Gosh, this is a difficult one. I am fortunate to have seen some outstanding theatre in my life and among the standout, game-changer shows I have seen is a production of Sleep No More by Punchdrunk that I saw in New York in 2014. I was a regular theatregoer before that, but this particular show changed how I think about size and scale and what I considered to be possible in the theatre – where it can happen, how audiences can be involved, how detailed design can be, how a wide range of theatrical elements can be seamlessly woven together and how much space a single production can take up!
What is your favourite aspect of the industry – be it specific people, parts of the production process, particular venues/locations or something else?
I am starting to enjoy writing for performance – not traditional plays necessarily, but writing performance texts generally is something that I am more and more excited about. My longstanding favourite thing about getting to work in the theatre is the ever-surprising, wildly collaborative nature of it all. I think it is a special way to be in creative community with people.
What is an aspect of the industry that you feel could be improved (even if that’s only an idealistic wish)?
Listen, we could all be making more money from this! The flow of resources to make work, to allow it to live and grow and travel is quite dire at the moment. There is incredible work being made every year, all over the country, and there’s just not enough opportunity for this work to generate sustainable income for its creators.
What has been your scariest on stage moment so far (anything from forgetting words or cues to accidents or other unforeseen events)?
I was in a production of Guys and Dolls at university and I fell in the middle of my scene! All I remember is fining myself lying on my back and looking up into the faces of my panicked castmates while they were still singing and then being scooped up off the floor to carry on the scene!
Tell us about your upcoming production, and what makes your character interesting to play?
Constellations is an extraordinary play about a couple, a beekeeper and a theoretical physicist, and the different possible directions their relationship could take in a parallel universe! It is also about attraction, love and loss and questions of free will. My character is a fantastically geeky scientist who studies theoretical early universe cosmology, of all things, and is also incredibly warm and forward and entirely relatable. I’m thrilled to be playing her, especially opposite the legend, Mark Elderkin, and all in the exceptionally capable hands of a creative team led by Jay Pather. What a joy!