Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre presenting Constellations Feb. 18

Stars align for stage play

The stars will align for the Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre presentation of Constellations.

The Vancouver-based Exact Resemblance’s critically acclaimed production of British playwright Nick Payne’s award-winning show takes place Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and is part of the 2025-26 Spotlight Season’s Theatre Series.

Described as 'Groundhog Day meets The Theory of Everything,' the play won the Evening Standard Award for “Best Play” after debuting at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2012; and in 2015 it received a Tony nomination on Broadway.

In Payne’s stage play, Marianne, a Cambridge University astrophysicist, and Roland, a London beekeeper, meet by chance and are instantly drawn to each other. As their unlikely relationship grows, they are confronted by choices that will alter the trajectory of their lives.

Constellations is a play about missed chances, second chances, and what it means to be alive.

But Payne takes the traditional boy-meet-girl tale and flips it on its head by plunging both characters into the multiverse, where their love story is played out in all its variations.

This production’s cast and crew feature two rising stars in the Vancouver theatre scene, directed by the award-winning, internationally established theatre-maker Cristiana Ripeneau; with the acting talents of Vancouver-born-and-raised Gillian Clare as Marianne, and Australian actor Jacob Machin as Roland.

Dave Deveau, artistic director of Carousel Theatre described the Vancouver debut performance at Studio 16 in 2024 as “Visceral and moving evening of powerful humanity with juggernaut talents.”

Tickets are $45 for adults, $40 for members and $35 for students aged 25 and under and can be purchased from the Ticket Seller box office in the performing arts centre, by calling 250-549-SHOW (7469) or online.