Monday 27 July 2015

Constellations (theater review)

My kind of Friday night entertainment


When it comes to Friday evening, most people I know tend to head out to the pub for a drink or two with friends. I think it’s important to socialize, but it’s not an alcohol-based atmosphere that I personally desire. I’d much rather go out for a casual dinner or movie. So, I think that the topic of this particular blog post will be of no surprise to any of you. Out of all the shows available last week, Constellations was the one that stood out to me the most. The combination of quantum physics and romance in a play sounded intriguing. I was keen to find out if this was the reason behind the countless amount of stellar reviews critics had offered.

Plus it was raining horridly outside so an indoor form of entertainment was a definite must.

The sweet shop

Parallel universes


The acting and backdrop were both nothing short of phenomenal. However, what fascinated me the most was the theme the plot brought up. From start till finish, the story tended to be made up of a series of repeated scenes, although there was a slight difference in emotion, attitude and atmosphere in each one. If I recall correctly, this setting was based on the concept of parallel universes. It’s essentially the idea of having another one of you in an alternative realm, only he/she experiences the situation you have in an alternative way (positive or negative). It kinda got the anthropologist in me thinking about whether this phenomenon is applicable to people living in contrasting cultures.

Snacks galore
For a boy-meets-girl based performance, the use of the parallel universes concept meant a mixture of sweet and sour, hot and cold scenes. The amount of emotions radiating from the two actors was utterly indescribable. It was truly amazing how only two performers managed to captivate an audience of over 350 for longer than an hour, especially since there was very little music. I also recall them mentioning something about time, which got me thinking about the essay I wrote back in my first year at university concerning the culturally different understandings and experiences of time.

Arriving at the studio
An enjoyable evening treat suitable for those that enjoy a bit of humor, dancing, and thinking after work.

Oh and I also had a nice chat to the viewer next to me – Friday night socializing complete.


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