Royal Court hit Constellations will be the third sell-out play from the much-lauded new writing venue to transfer to the Duke of York’s theatre this year as part of its West End season.
Nick Payne’s critically acclaimed play will run at the Duke of York’s theatre from 9 November (press night 16 November) to 5 January, following the current revival of Posh and forthcoming comedy Jumpy.
Happy-Go-Lucky star Sally Hawkins and Pete Versus Life’s Rafe Spall will reprise their roles in Michael Longhurst’s production. They star as a pair whose life, friendship and burgeoning relationship is looked at through shards of infinite possibilities; combining quantum multiverse theory and the idea of free will with dazzling results.
Dominic Cooke, Artistic Director of the Royal Court, said he knew Payne’s play was special when it first opened at the venue, saying: “It’s exactly the kind of play that the Royal Court was made for – it’s formally exciting with an emotional boldness that dazzled audiences and resulted in an unprecedented demand for tickets.”
Constellations will be the first of the three plays to transfer from the Royal Court’s smaller Jerwood Theatre Upstairs space. Commenting on this, Cooke said: “Transferring plays from the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs is always a balancing act. We want as many people as possible to see our work but need to retain the intimacy of the smaller theatre, so it is fantastic to work with ATG [Ambassador Theatre Group] to achieve this at the Duke of York’s in a superb addition to our Royal Court West End season.”
The Royal Court West End season sees Laura Wade’s Posh play at the Duke of York’s theatre until 4 August and Tamsin Greig starring in April De Angelis’ Olivier Award-nominated play Jumpy from 16 August to 3 November.