Drawing: Joe Armstrong and Louise Brealey in Constellations

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Constellations

After premiering at the Royal Court Theatre in 2012, Nick Payne’s double-hander Constellations transferred to the Duke of York’s in the West End, then onto Broadway before returning to London after a short UK tour to the Trafalgar Studios for a four-week run last month.

Described as ‘a singular love story with infinite possibilities’, Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins played the original Roland and Marianne, the couple whose relationship is explored alongside the quantum multiverse theory. Jake Gyllenhaal made his Broadway debut with Ruth Wilson when the play moved to New York’s Manhatten Theatre Club in January 2013. The latest production featured Joe Armstrong and Louise Brealey taking to the stage, memorable for the glowing cluster of white balloons, which evoke, in the words of designer Tom Scutt, “synapses in the brain and atoms and sperm and weddings and parties..”…probably endless possibilities…like the play.

Louise sensibly walked to work on the Saturday when central London was gridlocked by a bike-mobilisation day so she arrived at the Trafalgar Studios with plenty of time to chat and sign my sketch. Joe biked…an unwilling participant in the RideLondon campaign, arriving late and dripping with perspiration. But he took the time to sign and christen my sketch with ink and a few drops of sweat.

Both Joe and Louise will appear in Husbands & Sons at the National’s Dorfman Theatre in October.

Drawing: Ruth Wilson and Jake Gyllenhaal in Constellations on Broadway

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson both made their Broadway debuts in English playwright Nick Payne’s two-hander CONSTELLATIONS at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre last month. Playing star-crossed lovers Roland and Marianne, they received rave reviews from both critics and the audience. “Short, sweet and strangely haunting”, said Variety. It called the hour long performance a “baby bombshell”- single set, two characters, sparce scenery, killer acting!

The story of a young couple who break through the boundaries of the time/space continuum to explore the infinite possibilites of their love, CONSTELLATIONS premiered at London’s Royal Court Theatre in early 2012. As a result of strong reviews it subsequently transferred to the Duke of Yorks in the West End.

Both Jake and Ruth received Golden Globe nominations this year, with Ruth winning for her role as Alison Bailey in the new TV drama THE AFFAIR. Jake has picked up a haul of awards and nominations, including BAFTA and the Screen Actors Guild nods for his performance in the neo-noir crime thriller NIGHTCRAWLER.

Ruth has signed a couple of my drawings at West End productions so I sent this simple portrait sketch based on the plays poster to Ruth at the Theatre and both she and Jake kindly signed it for me.

Drawing: Sally Hawkins and Rafe Spall in Constellations at The Royal Court Theatre

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Following on from my Sally Hawkins post yesterday, I also sketched a Constellations drawing including Sally and Rafe Spall.The play, written by Nick Payne, premiered at The Royal Court in 2012 before a West End transfer. It won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play and received an Olivier writing nomination. Both Sally and Rafe signed the sketch at the Royal Court in January 2012 after a matinée performance.