Nick Payne’s Constellations explores love and chance

Image supplied

Directed by industry luminary and renowned choreographer 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.

Constellations contemplates how even the smallest change in our lives can dramatically alter the course we take.

The cast features Mark Elderkin (Speelgoed van Glas/The Glass Menagerie; Amadeus; 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.

“We have all experienced an 'if only' moment. What if I had done something differently, said something else? Would it have worked out better?” says Pather.

“In an increasingly fast-paced world filled with AI images and fake news, theatre remains a vital medium to share stories, understand each other and create connection,” says Julie-Anne McDowell, founder of How Now Brown Cow.

““At How Now Brown Cow, we believe storytelling is not an escape from reality, but a way to understand it. The stories we choose to tell are driven by urgency, humanity, and the need to spark conversation that extends beyond the theatre.”

“Constellations is a captivating journey of celebrating choices, questioning free will versus destiny, and considering infinite possibilities. Together, these productions reflect the duality of our existence - the personal and the political, the tender and the confronting. They ask us to look more closely at ourselves, at each other, and at the systems we live within.”

Constellations run

The Baxter Studio, Cape Town: 2-20 June 2026. Book at Webtickets
Theatre On The Square, Johannesburg: 23 June to 11 July 2026. Book at Webtickets