THE brilliant and multi-award-winning Constellations, by Nick Payne, is the spring production at the Barn Theatre, in Cirencester, from Friday 29th March to Saturday 18th May.

Described as a high-concept romance, “a Sliding Doors to the power of 100”, Constellations is a drama about time and memory, about death and grief and the power of love.

It is a two-hander, with the roles of beekeeper Roland and physicist Marianne played at the Barn by Faye Brookes and Tom Lorcan, both well known for their Kate Connor and Mike Hargrave roles in Coronation Street (among many other stage and screen productions).

The play kaleidoscopically explores the relationship between the unlikely couple, involving the audience in the comedy, heartbreak, friendship and reality of their lives.

The production is directed by Jessica Daniels, whose previous Built by Barn productions were The Butterfly Lion and The Mozart Question, for which Daniels received a UK Theatre Awards nomination for Best Direction.

Constellations premiered in the UK in 2012, winning the Best Play category at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, making the then 29-year-old Payne the youngest winner of the award. The play also received several nominations at the 2013 Oliviers and transferred to Broadway in 2015 where it received three Drama League Award nominations. In 2022, the play won the Olivier Award for Best Play Revival.

Since it was launched in 2018, the Barn Theatre has gained national recognition having produced more than 35 Built by Barn shows and being named The Stage Awards’ Fringe Theatre of the Year Award 2019.