The Donmar Warehouse will stream its West End revival of Constellations online next month, marking the first time the London theatre has hosted one of its productions on a dedicated on-demand platform. Nick Payne’s play, which was performed with four different casts over the run, has been recorded in each configuration and stream online in October for a month. The play will also be made available free to schools this autumn.
The production recently completed its highly acclaimed run at the Vaudeville Theatre where its four groupings all impressed. For my money, Sheila Atim and Ivanno Jeremiah, and Peter Capaldi and Zoë Wanamaker were both excellent but the chance to see Omari Douglas and Russell Tovey, and Anna Maxwell Martin and Chris O’Dowd in close succession really highlights the showcases this enterprise at its best. All four casting configurations will be available separately online so you’ll be able to mix and match to see the power and possibilities of different interpretations of the same text.
Donmar artistic director Michael Longhurst, who directed Constellations, said:
“It has been a privilege to be the first live performance for so many after such a hiatus – and to be a vital part of reanimating the West End. A production model born of practicality has brought artistic joys – mining the possibilities inherent in the multiverse, celebrating different identities and diversifying the offer to audiences.
Constellations is a love story that transcends time and space, so I am thrilled that after capturing these astonishing performances in close-up, all four interpretations of Nick’s beautiful play will now be accessible to a global audience digitally – as well as free for schools in the UK.”