Synopsis "Let's go for a drink. I don't know what I'm doing here anyway. One drink. And if you never want to see me again you never have to see me again." One relationship. Infinite possibilities. Quantum multiverse theory, love and honey. An explosive new play about free will and friendship. Upstairs
Here’s an absolute delight, a little gem of a play by Nick Payne, a playwright who’s been bubbling under at the Royal Court for a while, performed to perfection by Sally Hawkins and Rafe Spall on a simple raised square platform under a night sky of white balloons.
Michael Longhurst’s deft, highly skilled production, designed by Tom Scutt, is only 70 minutes long, but dense with affection and longing, pain and regret, as beekeeper Roland (Spall) and Sussex University cosmologist Marianne (Hawkins) meet at a barbecue, have an affair, separate, meet up again and face life, death and the universe with, on the whole, humorous equanimity.
Scenes are replayed with different emphases, and in parallel scenarios, or universes, at first flippantly offering alternative versions of the truth but increasingly suggesting a world of preferences and second chances. Marianne has a dying mother and occasional symptoms herself of neurological disorder and disease.
Spending time together becomes spending a lifetime together, partly because of circumstances, partly because of a dawning realisation that, with the passing of time, time itself continues on its way without us.
This could sound winsome; indeed, the show suggests to me one or two recent toe-curling little musicals rigorously overhauled by Caryl Churchill. But the repeat playing of a proposal scene from literally different angles, or the rapid cross-questioning of outside affections, only deepens an original study in love and friendship.
Against the odds, the overall effect is touching and beautiful. Hawkins has a wonderful way of spilling emotional beans while holding herself in check with a comic shrug of deprecation; while Spall’s Roland, solid and considerate, receives a serious education in listening and adjusting, riding Marianne’s outbursts with speed and sharpness.
What an intriguing, fascinating and challenging 65 minutes this is. Nick Payne’s play tells the story of a relationship from first meeting at a friends BBQ to its tragic and premature end, but it’s actually relationships plural – happening in parallel universes – I think.
It’s a two-hander performed on a platform with no props. The audience sits on all four sides. The ceiling is obscured by white balloons through which light shines. Most scenes are played out a handful of times, though each one is in some way different, depending on the universe? Somehow it tells a captivating human story / stories. It owes something in structure to Caryl Churchill’s A Number and in production style to Mike Bartlett’s Cock (the play!), but it’s a highly original piece.
It’s great to see actors of the calibre of Sally Hawkins & Rafe Spall rise to such challenging roles in a small intimate space without the aid of set, props or music. These performances are raw and thrilling. Part of me feels privileged to be one of only a few thousand who will see them, but the other part feels sad that they will only be seen by as many people as fill the Olivier on just three nights – not that it would work in the Olivier. Lets see them both in something that would on one of our big stages soon please.
Plays that play with structure are often clever but don’t entertain. I’m not sure I fully understand this one, but it was both stimulating and satisfying
- Gareth James
22 Feb 12
Nick Payne's marvellous two-hander gets off to a brilliant start with designer Tom Scutt's minimalist design, of a black stage, covered by honeycomb hexagons, apparently floating underneath white balloons resembling giant frogspawn. Coupled with sound designer, David McSeveney's ominous hum, the balloons create an atmosphere of impending birth, things about to be born. The play then gives birth to many moments from the multiple lives of a gentle geeky beekeeper (Rafe Spall) and a blunt geeky scientist (Sally Hawkins). As Hawkin's character explains, in advanced physics, we live many lives forever, not one life once. And so we proceed to see key moments from the many lives of these two that sometimes do and sometimes don't lead to a relationship. But one moment is foregrounded, as it is the only moment to be frequently reenacted, signposted always by a dimming of the lights, and it is a profound moment in which one character faces up to the lack of ultimate control we all have over our lives. The play insists that every moment of our lives matter. It insists that we matter. Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins are utterly wonderful, both able to transition between emotional states effortlessly and believably. The geeky awkwardness of both characters is critical to the play as communication, between people who find it difficult, is so much more heroic than for those that find it easy. And Spall and Hawkins make these vulnerable heroes both hysterically funny and tremendously moving. Thank you for this play, Nick Payne! - steveatplays
The first theatre opened as The New Chelsea on 16 Apr 1870. Changed name to Belgravia. Re-opened as Royal Court 25 Jan 1871. Demolished in 1887. New theatre opened (current, slightly different site) 24 Sep 1888. Famous for supporting and commissioning new writing. Probably the first UK Theatre to regularly include their URL in advertising. Member of the Society of London Theatre. In 1996 the theatre closed for redevelopment, funded by the National Lottery. The refurbished theatre at Sloane Square re-opened in February 2000 including two theatres the 389 seat Jerwood Theatre Downstairs and the studio style Jerwood Theatre Upstairs.
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