How Now Brown Cow Presents
NICK PAYNE’s
CONSTELLATIONS
“We have all experienced an 'if only' moment. What if I had done something differently, said something else? Would it have worked out better?”
— Jay Pather (Director)SEASONS
The Baxter Studio
3 to 20 June 2026
Theatre On The Square
23 June to 11 July 2026
Directed by industry luminary and renowned choreographer Jay Pather (The Firebird; Bridling; Hold Still; Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre), Constellations is a spellbinding exploration of love, science, quantum theory, and infinite possibility for heartbreak or for hope.
The stellar cast features Mark Elderkin (Speelgoed van Glas/The Glass Menagerie; Amadeus; A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Mwenya Kabwe (Hold Still; Yellowman; mAnJE! MaNje (an epic)).
Marianne, a physicist, and Roland, a beekeeper, meet at a barbeque. They hit it off, and go for a drink. Or perhaps they don’t. They go home together, or maybe they go their separate ways. Perhaps Marianne is engaged to someone else, perhaps Roland is. Maybe she breaks his heart, maybe he breaks hers. Perhaps they come together and their love story can finally take root and grow, or perhaps it will be tragically cut short.
Constellations contemplates how even the smallest change in our lives can dramatically alter the course we take.
Directed by Jay Pather
Jay Pather is one of South Africa’s most influential interdisciplinary artists, working across theatre, choreography, curation, and academia. His work is deeply rooted in spatial storytelling—interrogating how bodies move through, resist, and reshape the worlds they inhabit.
As Director of the Institute for Creative Arts at the University of Cape Town, he conceived landmark initiatives such as Infecting the City and the ICA Live Art Festival, both of which reimagine performance within public space. His curatorial work spans globally, including collaborations with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, Afrovibes Festival in the Netherlands, and Spielart in Munich.
Pather’s directing work has been widely recognised, with nominations for Bridling and Hold Still, and a Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards win for What Remains. His practice is marked by a rigorous intellectual curiosity and a commitment to work that is politically engaged, visually striking, and emotionally resonant.
On Constellations, Pather brings a uniquely South African lens to a story about love, choice, and the infinite possibilities contained within a single moment.
Written by Nick Payne
Nick Payne is a celebrated British playwright and screenwriter known for his emotionally precise and intellectually playful writing. His breakout play, If There Is, I Haven’t Found It Yet, earned him the George Devine Award and marked him as one of the most exciting young voices in British theatre.
Constellations premiered at the Royal Court Theatre before transferring to the West End, quickly becoming an international success. In 2012, Payne became the youngest recipient of the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play, with the work also receiving an Olivier Award nomination.
The play has since been performed worldwide, including a celebrated American production at Manhattan Theatre Club starring Ruth Wilson and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Payne’s work often explores science, time, and human connection with wit and tenderness. In Constellations, he uses the language of quantum physics to examine the fragile, beautiful complexity of love—where every choice creates a new universe, and every moment holds endless possibility.
Mwenya Kabwe
Mwenya Kabwe is an award-winning Zambian-born performer, an interdisciplinary theatre maker and a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Theatre Dance & Performance Studies (CTDPS) at the University of Cape Town. Her notable stage performance roles include Rosa Fiegel in Nadia Davids’ Hold Still, directed by Jay Pather, Alma in Dael Orlandersmith’s Yellowman, directed by Lara Bye, Camae in Katori Hall’s Mountaintop directed by Warona Seane, Mrs Muller in John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt directed by James Cunningham and multiple roles in Magnet Theatre’s mAnJE! MaNje (an epic), directed by Mark Fleishman, and for which is also co-wrote the script with Jennie Reznek. Her work as a theatre maker has been showcased at The Centre for the Less Good Idea in Johannesburg, the Institute for Creative Arts in Cape Town, the Afrovibes Festival in Amsterdam and The Market Theatre Laboratory in Johannesburg. She directed the premier of Koleka Putuma’s No Easter Sunday for Queers at the Market Theatre and is the dramaturg for William Kentridge’s chamber opera The Great Yes The Great No.
Mark Elderkin
Since graduating from UCT Drama School in 2003, Mark has worked on a variety of projects in Theatre, film and TV. His Theatre credits include: Speelgoed van Glas/The Glass Menagerie (Woordfees Best Supporting Actor Award ) Amadeus (FDC Award Best Supporting Actor, Naledi Best Supporting Actor Nomination) A Midsummer Nights Dream (FDC Award Best Supporting Actor, Woordfees Best Actor Award, Naledi Best Actor Nomination) Shakespeare in Love, Twelfth Night (FDC Award Best Supporting Actor) Champ, The Frontiersmen, My Low Fat almost Italian Wedding, Ashes to Ashes, Bethesda (Fiesta Best Actor Nomination) Swazi, Bouncers, The Secret Love Life of Ophelia, Macbeth (FDC Best Supporting Actor Nomination) A Midsummer Nights Dream (FNB Vita Award Best New Actor).
Film and Television include: One Piece, A State of General Disorder, Reyka, Outlander, Eve’s Christmas, Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman, Theodore Roosevelt, Black Beauty, Grant, Warrior, Black Sails, The Dark Tower, Madiba, Tali’s Wedding Diary, Moffie, Tess, Origins, Death Race 3, Konfetti, Troy: Fall of a City, Skeem, A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits, Saints and Strangers, The Book of Negroes, Restless, Dark Tide, Die Boland Moorde, Special Forces Heroes, Wild at Heart, Goodbye Bafana, The Triangle.
“Constellations is a remarkable play that evokes this human frailty through compelling text, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart wrenching that builds steadily with the inevitability of ancient ritual and Greek drama.”
— Jay Pather (Director)
Creative Team
Cast
