The Barn Theatre in Cirencester has announced that Faye Brookes (Coronation Street, Strictly Ballroom) and Tom Lorcan (Coronation Street, A Monster Calls) will star in the theatre’s upcoming revival production of Nick Payne’s multi-award-winning play Constellations, running at the Cotswold venue from 29 March – 18 May, with a press performance on 2 April.
Constellations will also see the return of Jessica Daniels to direct the production, having previously directed the theatre’s acclaimed Built by Barn productions of The Butterfly Lion and The Mozart Question, for which Daniels received a UK Theatre Awards nomination for Best Direction.
Payne’s play is a high concept romance, a Sliding Doors to the power of 100 – and many other things at once: a drama about time and memory, about death and grief, playful and profound, comic and mournful.
The award-winning smash hit brings together the unlikeliest of couples in Roland, a beekeeper and Marianne, a physicist. What follows is a relationship and friendship that embraces the richness of the characters, allowing the audience to share in the comedy and the heartbreak, drawing them into the unflinching reality that the characters eventually face.
Nick Payne’s dazzling play is a beautiful rich exploration into human connections with a plot that ingeniously keeps us guessing until the very end.
Constellations first premiered in the UK in 2012, winning the Best Play category at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, making the 29-year-old Payne the youngest winner of the award. The play also received several nominations at the 2013 Olivier Awards, including a Best Play nomination, before debuting on Broadway in 2015 to great acclaim, including three Drama League Award nominations. In 2022, the play received the Olivier Award for Best Play Revival.
Faye Brookes was most recently seen touring the UK starring as Fran in Strictly Ballroom the Musical. Brookes is best known for playing the role of Kate Connor in Coronation Street from 2015-2019, winning a National Television Award for her performance, and finishing second place in the 2021 series of Dancing On Ice. Her performance credits also include playing Roxie Hart in Chicago (UK Tour), Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (UK Tour) and Princess Fiona in Shrek (UK Tour).
Tom Lorcan is best known for playing the role of Mike Hargrave in Coronation Street. His screen credits also include playing Captain Stark in House of the Dragon, Edward Vickers in Gentleman Jack and Neil Hughs in Granchester. His stage credits include playing Dad in the Olivier Award-winning A Monster Calls (Bristol Old Vic & Kennedy Center, USA), Tony in Billy Elliot (West End) and Donnie/Knuckles in the original West End cast of Jersey Boys (West End).
Jessica Daniels said, “I’m thrilled to be returning to the Barn to direct Nick Payne’s Constellations. It’s play I’ve always loved, at a theatre that has produced some of my proudest work.”
Daniels will be joined on the creative team by Ethan Cheek as Designer, Amanda Priestley as Composer and Sound Designer, and Off West End Award-nominee Hector Murray as Lighting Designer.
Since launching in 2018, the Barn Theatre has gained national recognition having produced over 35 Built by Barn shows and being awarded The Stage Awards’ Best Fringe Theatre of the Year Award 2019. The theatre recently celebrated its fifth anniversary with a season that included world premieres of Simon Reade’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s Waiting For Anya, Jonathan Lynn’s final instalment of his classic series I’m Sorry Prime Minister, I Can’t Quite Remember, as well as a reimagined revival production of the musical Once and the world premiere of a musical adaptation of Treasure Island.
More information can be found at www.barntheatre.org.uk
