Constellations Read online

  Marianne Roland I don’t think that I can go back to work.

  Roland Have they told you that?

  Marianne They’re great.

  Roland You’ve told them then?

  Marianne Not yet.

  Roland But you’re going to.

  Marianne I think so.

  Roland But you haven’t said any of this to them?

  Marianne They’ve said whatever I want.

  Roland So what about part-time?

  Marianne I don’t know the point.

  Roland You mean the point of going part-time?

  Marianne Either I’m walking or I’m

  Either I’m walker

  I either do it or I don’t. Scares me.

  Roland Work?

  Marianne Stopping.

  Roland Stopping work scares you?

  Marianne What will I do?

  Roland We’ll go away. We can do whatever we want.

  Marianne I don’t –

  Roland I’m being serious.

  Marianne I don’t –

  Roland I mean it.

  Marianne I I don’t

  We can’t. I have to have to make a

  I have to have a choice.

  Control.

  * * *

  Roland Taxi’s booked for nine.

  Marianne I know.

  Roland Gives us an extra half an hour.

  Marianne It does.

  Roland Are you tired?

  Marianne A bit.

  Roland Would you like to go to sleep?

  Marianne What time is it?

  Roland Are you cold?

  Marianne No.

  Roland I could turn the air conditioning off?

  Marianne I’m fine.

  * * *

  Roland Taxi’s booked for nine.

  Marianne I know.

  Roland Gives us an extra half an hour.

  Marianne It does.

  Roland Are you tired?

  Marianne A bit.

  Roland Would you like to go to sleep?

  Marianne What time is it?

  Roland Are you cold?

  Marianne No.

  Roland I could turn the air conditioning off?

  Marianne I’m fine.

  * * *

  Roland Taxi’s booked for nine.

  Marianne I know.

  Roland Gives us an extra half an hour.

  Marianne It does.

  Roland Are you tired?

  Marianne A bit.

  Roland Would you like to go to sleep?

  Marianne What time is it?

  Roland Are you cold?

  Marianne No.

  Roland I could turn the air conditioning off?

  Marianne I’m fine.

  Roland Do you want to put the telly on?

  Marianne No thank you.

  Roland Are you hungry?

  Marianne Full.

  Roland I’ve. I’ve had a really wonderful day.

  Marianne Same.

  Roland Really?

  Marianne Yes.

  Roland Can I be honest with you?

  Marianne No.

  She’s joking. They perhaps smile a little.

  Roland There are, there are times when I look at you and I absolutely understand why you’re doing this. But there are times when I absolutely don’t. And I’m not, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be calling it a day. But I s’pose I am starting to wonder if now is the right time. Because if it were me and I were you I think that I would want as much time as possible. And if you think you’ve got another couple of months in you, God I would love to give that a go.

  Marianne Yes.

  Roland What?

  Marianne (beat) Yes. Let’s go home.

  * * *

  Roland Because if it were me and I were you I think that I would want as much time as possible. And if you think you’ve got another couple of weeks in you, God I would love to give that a go.

  Marianne What what do you mean by time?

  Roland Time, I mean time, I’d want more time. With you.

  Marianne I’m not sure that

  You and I, we might, we think that

  But that, that

  There’s an arrow from p-past to present.

  Roland Mary –

  Marianne But that’s really all we can say. Asymmetrical.

  Roland Mary –

  Marianne But nobody knows why.

  Roland Okay.

  Marianne L-listen to me, please.

  Roland Let’s not talk about this now.

  Marianne Please.

  Roland I shouldn’t have brought it up.

  Marianne L-listen to me, please. The basic laws of physics – The b-b-basic laws of physics don’t have a past and a present. Time is irrelevant at the level of a-atoms and molecules. It’s symmetrical.

  We have all the time we’ve always had.

  You’ll still have all our time.

  Once I

  Once

  Once

  There’s not going to be any more or less of it.

  Once I’m gone.

  * * *

  Roland Hello, Marianne.

  Marianne Roland. Wow, hi – Hello. How are you?

  Roland Yeah, I’m fine, thanks.

  Marianne Oh good. Good, that’s really good.

  Roland How about y’self?

  Marianne I bought some of your honey.

  Roland Oh really.

  Marianne From the Budgens in Crouch End.

  Roland Yeah, right. They’re really great.

  Marianne I said to the girl on the till, I said I used to know the man who made this honey.

  Roland What did she say?

  Marianne She just stared at me.

  Roland I read one of your papers.

  Marianne You did not?

  Roland I did. I downloaded it.

  Marianne That’s really amazing, Roland.

  Roland What did you think of the honey?

  Marianne Delicious. It was completely delicious. Are you, are you here for the ballroom class?

  Roland Yeah, no, yeah, I am, yeah.

  Marianne Really.

  Roland Heather’s getting married in a couple of months, so.

  Marianne The PE teacher?

  Roland That’s right, yeah. Good memory. I’ve been ordered to sort out my two left feet or else. How about you?

  Marianne Similar, really. Wedding.

  Roland Your own or –

  Marianne No, God, can you imagine. I’m being a very diligent bridesmaid. We’re having some kind of mass Viennese waltz. I’m not sure I fully understand it as yet.

  Roland So is this your first? Lesson.

  Marianne No, second. You?

  Roland First, yeah.

  Marianne Well done on the comfortable trouser front. I came straight from work. Last week. Crotch was like a fucking hothouse by the time I got home.

  Beat.

  Roland We should – Afterwards – If you – If we’re not both completely exhausted. There’s a nice place not that far. We could – We could try going for a drink? But if we get there, if we’re there, if we’re there and you, you change your mind, if you change your mind and you wanna call it a day, then we’ll just call it a day. We’ll just call it a day and you’ll never have to see me again.

  ALSO BY NICK PAYNE

  If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet

  NICK PAYNE

  CONSTELLATIONS

  Nick Payne is the author of If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet (Bush Theatre, London, and Roundabout Theatre Company, New York; winner of the 2009 George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright), Wanderlust (Royal Court Theatre, London), an adaptation of Sophocles’ Electra (Gate Theatre, London), Lay Down Your Cross (Hampstead Theatre Downstairs, London), The Same Deep Water As Me (Donmar Warehouse, London; nominated for a 2014 Laurence Olivier Award as Best New Comedy), Blurred Lines (The Shed, National Theatre, London), and Incognito (Bush Theatre, London). In London, Constellations was staged at the
Royal Court Theatre and the Duke of York’s Theatre. It was the winner of the 2012 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play and was nominated for a 2013 Laurence Olivier Award as a MasterCard Best New Play.

  Faber and Faber, Inc.

  An affiliate of Farrar, Straus and Giroux

  18 West 18th Street, New York 10011

  Copyright © 2012 by Nick Payne

  All rights reserved

  Originally published in 2012 by Faber and Faber Ltd., Great Britain

  Published in the United States by Faber and Faber, Inc.

  First American edition, 2014

  eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Payne, Nick.

  Constellations / Nick Payne. — First American edition.

  pages; cm.

  ISBN 978-0-86547-771-1 (pbk.)

  1. Interpersonal relations—Drama. I. Title.

  PR6116.A97 C66 2014

  822'.92—dc23

  2013014939

  www.fsgbooks.com

  www.twitter.com/fsgbooks • www.facebook.com/fsgbooks

  eISBN 9780374711115

  CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that Constellations is subject to a royalty. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States and of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union (including the Dominion of Canada and the rest of the British Commonwealth) and of all countries covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention, and of all countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound taping, all other forms of mechanical or electronic reproduction, such as information storage and retrieval systems and photocopying, and the rights of translation into foreign languages, are strictly reserved. Particular emphasis is laid upon the question of readings, permission for which must be secured from the author’s agent in writing. Inquiries concerning all rights should be addressed to WME, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019, Attn: John Buzzetti.