„Constellations“ in the National Theater is a performance that takes your breath away repeatedly – of genuine laughter, of spontaneous empathy, of confusion, of pain, of horror, of relief, of impossible wandering in the world of Marianne and Roland. A world that proves there is no difference between quantum physics and beekeeping. Because of the movement, the infinity and the countless experiments with which we try to change the natural course of things. Because the basic laws of physics have no past or present...
He (Nencho Kostov) is a young man who lost his wife after a long struggle with a serious illness. Unable to process the trauma, he orders experimental technology that allows him to meet Her in a parallel digital reality. Then She (Radina Dumanyan) appears – to live their lives together – not just like in a movie, but in an alien, unreal and phantasmagorical way that will only reinforce the maxim that everything in life comes back. Everything repeats itself. It sucks us in and sends us into supposed parallel universes from which we can never return.
In “Constellations” repetition is an essential dramaturgical device that adds value – because of Nick Payne's strong text, because of the strong acting, the directorial work (by Elitsa Yovcheva), the good translation (by Matei Todorov), and last but not least – the adequate and complementary visual and musical environment (by Petko Tanchev and Georgi Atanasov).
When you think you have all the time in the world. But the world has no time for you. When you believe you'll live forever if you can touch your elbow with your tongue. But eternity makes other calculations, far less fun. When a barbecue in the rain and wet sausages is an opportunity for romance. But love is not in the air and cannot control the clouds. When one moment turns your whole life around. But life is both devil and God... When, despite all this, you feel the world like honey – one spoonful and you're in heaven.
Every situation in our life is a constellation. And there are always shooting stars – for some it brings tears of happiness, and for others – only tears. The beautiful thing is that in both cases, there are always options. Forward. Happy. Despite the unknown and unimaginability with which we reach for our own choices...
Nencho Kostov, whom the audience of our largest troupe knows from “Fear of Domestication“, “Blog“, “The Observers“ and “O you who are“, in “Constellations“ shows his best as an actor. As Roland, he unfolds in all sorts of states, comic, dramatic, ironic, romantic, hysterical, compelling with his presence, even mesmerizing. Achieving this professional achievement also goes to his partner, whose role by default is much more monotonous and realistic, making it extremely difficult to play.
The author Nick Payne is a British playwright and screenwriter known for his work “West End“ and “Broadway”, for cinema and television. At the age of 31, he debuted on “Broadway“ namely with “Constellations“ (Constellations, 2015), for which he received a “Tony“ – for best play. For another play of his – “Elegy“ (2016) received the nomination for “Laurence Olivier“. Back on “Broadway” with A Sea/Life (2019) at the Hudson Theatre. “Constellations“ appears on the Bulgarian stage, for the first time in 2018. The director is Yordan Slaveykov, and the translation is by Lina Tsvetanova and Vasil A. Mihailov, who appears on the stage together with Nevena Nikolova. The scenography and costumes are by Yuliana Vojkova-Naiman, the music – of Kalin Nikolov.