Hamilton Theatre Project brings romance, humour and the multiverse to McMaster

With a two-person cast and minimal set, Constellations demonstrates the charm of a good story

Hamilton Theatre Project’s production of Constellations opened on Feb. 6, 2025 at the Lyons Family Studio, located in L. R. Wilson Hall. This is HTP’s second run of the show, which they performed at The Staircase in June 2024.

Constellations, written by Nick Payne, follows the relationship of Marianne and Roland through different universes, mapping out multiple possible endings and beginnings. Amber Mills, the artistic producer of HTP, discussed how the play's themes stood out to her. “I feel like it’s a really beautiful look at how we spend our time and why it matters and the choices we make and how they impact the way our lives unfold,” said Mills, “That concept or idea of “what if?” and exploring the multiverse from a love perspective is really appealing to me.”

Mills also acts in the show, playing Marianne, alongside Colin Palangio, who plays Roland. “In my mind, as an actor it’s super appealing to do a project like this that’s small. It’s really just about storytelling and just about the relationship and not really about any production value or other things,” said Mills.

For this production, the theatre was configured “in the round” with approximately 80 seats, creating an immersive experience. “I can’t really imagine this play not [in the round]. It feels like a play that kind of calls to have people all around. [A traditional stage] can feel quite limiting, you can only play in one direction. So this feels like it gives you a lot of freedom,” said Mills.

The stage was set with two wooden benches, a chair, and some small boxes. Throughout the show, the benches are reconfigured to create various settings, and a couple of props are taken out from the boxes. Colin Palangio, who plays Roland, explained how they decided on the set pieces. “We stuck with the sparse, very little going on, because really it’s about the couple. They’re traversing different universes so much, so that would be way too much prop and set,” said Palangio.

Without set changes, the multiverse is only indicated via alternate versions of the “same” scene. This structure presents a fun challenge for Mills and Palangio, who are responsible for conveying a new scene while repeating identical or similar dialogue. “It’s definitely an actor’s pleasure to do something like this because you really get to play,” said Palangio, “It reminds me of going back to not seeing the sunlight in theatre school and just trying a scene over and over. And I think what’s cool is that this show really sort of requires you to do that.”

As the only cast members, Mills and Palangio are wholly responsible for telling the story. “I don’t feel like I can hide, it really asks a lot of you as an actor,” said Mills. “There’s just the dialogue and the two people and trusting your scene partner because you’re only really as good as the people you share the stage with,” said Palangio.

Both actors remain onstage throughout the entire 90-minute play and are only unlit during brief voice-over transition scenes and minor set adjustments. The play is impressively fast paced, often switching between universes without warning and requiring the actors to change their expressions, body language and tone of voice within a few seconds. “It’s kind of unrelenting, you don’t really get a breather per se. You go on this ride and you just stay on it for 90 minutes,” said Mills.

Mills shared that HTP was invited to bring the show to campus by the arts operations, resources and production department of McMaster’s school of the arts “[They were] excited about bringing something that was sort of from Hamilton. A Hamilton-based project, something semi-professional that the students could come and see, . . . that wasn’t the same type of theatre that they might see anywhere else in town,” said Mills.

Constellations is on until Feb. 15, 2025. To view the full list of showtimes or purchase a ticket, you can visit the showpass page. Current McMaster students can use the promotional code MAC50 at checkout to receive a 50 per cent discount. To keep up with HTP and their future projects, you can find them on Instagram or Facebook.