Constellations by Nick Payne at The Street Theatre is full of humour and pathos

According to 17th-century Spanish playwright, Lope de Vega, all that is required to create great theatre is two actors, a plank and a passion. It is a pronouncement that rings true in Nick Payne's fascinating contemporary romantic comedy, Constellations. Under the carefully guided and intelligent direction of Caroline Stacey, two outstanding actors, Lexi Sekuless and Kristian Jenkins, bring passion to the multiple possibilities of a relationship on Imogen Keen's simple, yet liberating rostra setting, effectively lit by Owen Horton.

British playwright Nick Payne's play starts simply enough with a meeting at a barbecue between beekeeper Roland and lecturer in quantum mechanics and cosmology Marianne. Jenkins and Sekuless capture the charm and awkwardness of a first meeting. Jenkins' Roland is cool, composed and natural. Sekuless' Marianne is nervous, giggly and unnaturally girlish. The short exchanges are played with a recognisable simplicity that belies the complexity that follows as Payne constructs a series of possible meetings and engagements that could express a future construct, as though the two characters were playing out alternative realities simultaneously in parallel universes.

What emerges is a constellation of possibilities, which express the universal nature of relationships. Different scenarios are played out as the actors simply segue from one scenario to an identical situation with a very different outcome. Each recurring reality affirms the possibility of an alternative consequence to a word, a gesture, a response. The unpredictability gives rise to humour, argument, confusion, reconciliation or pathos. The fragility of human nature manifests in uncertainty, break-up, rejection of commitment, reunion and the multiple facets of a relationship. To watch the possibilities played out in The Street Theatre production of Payne's award-winning contemporary drama is to witness Canberra's home-grown professional theatre at its best. In the spirit of Lope de Vega, this production of Constellations breathes the recognisable air of believability, transporting us from the initial comedy of first meeting to the searing poignancy of love, confronted by a devastating challenge.

At times, Jenkins and to a lesser extent Sekuless play an intimacy more suited vocally to the smaller Street Two, or on occasion are intruded upon by Kyle Sheedy's generally subtle and atmospheric sound design. It is a small quibble in a production, imaginatively designed, and effectively staged with Beckett-like minimalism.

Payne's ingeniously crafted insights shine a light on the stars in the eyes of love and chart the various choices that can alter the course of a galaxy of relationships. Underlying this is the theory that everything that we have or have not done in the past is being played out in a different universe. It's a conjecture to conjure with! Stacey's direction is sensitive, straightforward and honest. Sekuless and Jenkins are ideally cast as the two lovers whose destiny is determined by the choices they make. Theirs is a journey that every audience can share. Don't miss it.