How Now Brown Cow, the award-winning South African theatre company, is back for the winter – this time with a reality-warping production of Constellations – a play that tackles heartbreak and hope.
The play, which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre before moving to the West End, follows a physicist and a beekeeper in a relationship that evolves, twists, and rewrites itself before the audience’s eyes. In Constellations, viewers are taken through a kaleidoscope of moments between the couple – some happy, some sad, some ambiguous – to ask the question: “What might happen if every version of our lives existed at once?” And, importantly, “Can love endure across them all?”
Behind the scenes
This mind-bending, reality-altering play was originally written by Nick Payne, who has received Olivier and Tony Award nominations for his work in British theatre, with numerous productions running on the West End and Broadway. Payne also wrote the critically acclaimed A24 romance film We Live In Time, starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh.
The 2026 version of Constellations is directed by acclaimed industry veteran, academic and choreographer Jay Pather. Currently, Pather curates for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, as well as Afrovibes Festival and the Spier Light Art Festival. Previously, he directed the multi-disciplinary Bridling and won the Fleur du Cap for his directorial work on the politically charged What Remains.
Meet the actors
In this production, Marianne is played by Mwenya Kabwe, an award-winning Zambian-born performer known for her roles in Doubt and mAnJE! MaNje. The latter was co-written by Kabwe, who starred in multiple roles during its successful stint at the Magnet Theatre, and was nominated for 7 Fleur du Cap awards in 2024.
Mark Elderkin plays Roland, himself a renowned actor who has starred in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Amadeus, both of which earned him numerous national accolades. After graduating from UCT Drama School in 2003, he has become one of the country’s most prolific theatre actors, particularly in Shakespeare adaptations. Elderkin has also appeared in various films and TV shows, most notably Goodbye Bafana, The Dark Tower, and Moffie.
Need to know
Theatre lovers looking for something that pushes the art form and plays with expectations can look to Constellations, which uses the language of quantum physics to tell a simple story about the complexity of love, for a unique and moving experience.
Cost: R250. Tickets for Constellations are available now on Webtickets.
When: 2 – 20 June 2026 | From 8pm | Saturday matinee from 3pm
Where: Baxter Studio (Baxter Theatre Centre), cnr Burg & Main Rds, Rondebosch, Cape Town
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