Skip to main content

Review of Constellations at the Church Of The Holy Sepulchre, Northampton

In a parallel universe, this second cast version of Masque Theatre’s production of Constellations by Nick Payne did not fall foul of serious rehearsal impediments to Covid. However, alas, both cast members Gemma Knight as Marianne, and Anthony Burgess as Roland fell to Covid at different times and in this universe, the best part of three weeks of rehearsals was lost. However, on the evidence of their performance, it impacts less than you might think on the final product.

Foremost, this is the same show as my previous review of Constellations, so for that click here to see the gist of the production rather than going over the same ground here. Repetition is for Constellations itself, not my review.

However, there is much that feels different in this version performance-wise. Knight and Burgess bring their own dynamic to the show. They are older than the other performers, so, they bring more experience of life to the show’s feel. Little nuances that you only earn from living life. You often believe the relationship more, and without doubt Knight and Burgess have a more natural approach to the performance.

Among my favourite differences was a very contrasting telling of the bee tale by Burgess, I have to admit, despite having already seen it a lot in the previous version, Burgess presented even more humour from the delivery of this. It was one of my favourite moments the first time, and it became more so in this telling.

Knight brings equally a different, but an excellent portrayal of Marianne to the stage. I particularly liked the increased development of the character's illness, especially with the added physicality she portrayed.

Perhaps either intentionally, or because of the simple loss of time, there were slightly fewer movement pieces in this version, however, they were no less a delightful part of the story. The dance routine was again lovely and poignantly returned to at the very end.

Constellations in both its forms truly showed the strength of community theatre in Northampton and while the stars aligned to make the rehearsal process troublesome, the result was still a great deal better than many amateur, and indeed, professional shows on offer.

A parallel universe short of perfection.
⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Performance reviewed: Friday 8th April 2022 at the Church Of The Holy Sepulchre, Northampton.

Constellations ran at the Church Of The Holy Sepulchre until Saturday 9th April 2022 (including Saturday matinee).

For further details about the Masque Theatre see their website at http://www.masquetheatre.co.uk/

Constellations is MASQUE THEATRE NORTHAMPTON PRODUCTION

Rehearsal images

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Friends - The Musical Parody at Milton Keynes Theatre

The One Where 2026 starts in a world of confusion. And so, 2026 is upon us and for my first trip to the theatre this year, one of my most significant reviewing challenges was to occur. Touring to Milton Keynes Theatre is Friends - The Musical Parody , based, unsurprisingly, on that little American show that ran to a few audience members for ten years. However, I confess that I was not, and have never been in that audience, never having seen a single episode of the show. However, always up for a review challenge and doing my due diligence by having a Friends superfan as my plus one, I headed to Milton Keynes with anticipation. For those unfamiliar with the show, I could say I can’t help; however, a quick review of some of the information you might need (thanks, Google and my plus one). Running for ten years between 1994 and 2004 with 236 episodes (quiz question, you are welcome), the main characters consisted of Phoebe (ditzy, writer of sad songs), Monica (in possession of an unfeasibly...
Read more

Review of Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Despite now having seen a few dance shows encompassing many different styles, I had yet to see one developed by Sir Matthew Bourne, a controversial player in his time, but as the relatively recent knighthood suggests, now very much embraced by the establishment. So, does Romeo + Juliet live up to his name, that is the question? So, first, this might normally be where I give you a brief outline of the story, but, for one, most have a general understanding of the love disaster of William Shakespeare's play already, and two, as it turns out from the Bourne production, a huge amount of what you might be familiar with has gone or been dramatically changed anyway. There is shocking complicity in murders, there are different moments of murder and gone are the warring factions of the Montagues and Capulets. Characters themselves feel very different at times also, to such an extent that even knowing the play doesn't always make it clear who is who at times. So, if all that sounds...
Read more

Review of 2:22 A Ghost Story at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

2:22 A Ghost Story continues an endless rise and run of success on the stage. This play by Danny Robins was first staged as recently as August 2021 at the Noel Coward Theatre and since then the show continued to run in London for two years, moving to four further London theatres, before eventually closing in the city to embark on this tour, which began in September last year. During these runs, the cast has constantly been updated with often populist actors, and some, which are not even associated with acting. As this reaches Royal & Derngate, now even the touring cast has been swept clean and four further performers take on the incredible success of a show. This is the second time I have seen 2:22 A Ghost Story , and it is safe to say that on that first viewing, with the previous tour cast, I was not as blown away by the play as the success seemed to warrant. The aforementioned populist casting seemed to have driven a so-so ghostly tale into success beyond its quality, and with th...
Read more