Tag Archives: Nick Payne

CONSTELLATIONS: a play about theoretical physics, romance, and multiverses

CONSTELLATIONS by Nicholas Payne was premiered to great acclaim in the UK in 2013 according to the producers of the play’s 2015 US premiere (previews starting Dec. 16, 2014 with the regular run starting Jan. 13, 2015) on Broadway in New York, New York. David Bruggeman in a Dec. 21, 2014 post on his Pasco Phronesis blog describes the production in more detail including some of the financial aspects. He also mentions a very special, Jan. 15, 2014 performance (Note: A link has been removed),

… I first heard from the World Science Festival about the January 15 premiere of Constellations (which includes a post-performance discussion with Brian Greene and playwright Nick Payne), …

Here’s a video made available by the producers. At this stage I imagine it could be described as a preview of the preview,

Here’s a description of the play from the World Science Festival’s CONSTELLATIONS webpage,

The story of Constellations is “boy meets girl” with a scientific twist. A simple encounter between a man (Jake Gyllenhaal) and a woman (Ruth Wilson) leads to a romantic journey that eventually encompasses one of the most profound theories of physics: the idea that we live in a bundle of universes where all possibilities exist. Greene [Brian Greene {physicist and World Science Festival co-founder}] and Payne [playwright] will follow the show with an on-stage discussion about what we know about the multiverse—and what remains a mystery.

For anyone unfamiliar with the ‘multiverse’ concept (from its Wikipedia entry),

The multiverse (or meta-universe) is the hypothetical set of infinite or finite possible universes (including the universe we consistently experience) that together comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, and energy as well as the physical laws and constants that describe them. The various universes within the multiverse are sometimes called parallel universes or “alternate universes”

The structure of the multiverse, the nature of each universe within it and the relationships among the various constituent universes, depend on the specific multiverse hypothesis considered. Multiple universes have been hypothesized in cosmology, physics, astronomy, religion, philosophy, transpersonal psychology, and fiction, …

Amusingly, the play was featured in two places I check for news. David Bruggeman’s Pasco Phronesis blog and Elaine Lui’s Lainey Gossip blog. From Lui’s Dec. 22, 2014 posting (Jakey & Ruth?),

The Gossip Genie appears to be ignoring my requests for a Jake Gyllenhaal-Rachel McAdams love situation. Because he’s been spending a lot of time with Ruth Wilson. They’re working on a new play together, Constellations. …

You can get tickets and more information about the play at CONSTELLATIONS on Broadway.