Constellations, Trafalgar Studios ****

It is safe to say that Nick Payne's play has taken the theatre world by storm. After opening at the Jerwood theatre upstairs in 2012 it has had a West End run, a Broadway run and now a return to the West End after a hit tour. With productions such as Anything Goes, Beautiful Thing and Godspell having to cancel half their run halfway through without making it to the West End, it is remarkable that such a challenging production has had the success it's had. For a story of love and 'the boundless potential of a connection between two people', Constellations is hardly a breeze. The structure of the play is based around quantum mechanics which means that the structure is fragmented, with scenes being played out again and again. This could get very tiresome if it wasn't for the work that Joe Armstrong and Louise Brealey put in. The chemistry between them helps the play to click and for it to go from something that could be considered as self-aggrandizing as a Tom Stoppard play to a quirky and sweet story of two people and using big ideas in a small and understated way. This is helped by the direction from Michael Longhurst who has helped maintain the intimacy in a larger space than at the Royal Court. I have never been able to understand how you maintain the atmosphere of a space like the Jerwood Upstairs and I'm not sure if Longhurst has done it as I didn't see the original production. However, that feeling of excitement and buzz that I get whenever I enter the Royal Court was there at the usually lifeless Trafalgar Studios. Tom Scutt's design used balloons that take on different meanings as the piece develops, from a party to a hospital. A wonderfully acted and produced play that only occasionally is wearisome is a great representative for the work of the Royal Court and an example that challenging and stimulating works of theatre can be successful and popular on a large scale.