Supernova – Omnibus Theatre, London

Supernova is the story of Harry and Tess, who bond over a conversation about favourite planets. But will their love story shine like the brightest star, or explode and burn out in a supernova?

A VAULT Transfer To The Omnibus Theatre, Clapham

I saw a few things at this year’s VAULT Festival. Six in total. But that was still only around 1% of the total number of plays on offer. Choosing a couple of stars from the whole night sky, if I start the astronomical metaphors early. So it’s a wonderful thing to have a second chance when a play from VAULT transfers to another venue. Such is the case with Supernova. After a short run which garnered it an Origins Award nomination (for new work in the Theatre & Performance programme), Supernova now comes to the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham. It is a well-deserved second run for a charming and devastatingly honest play.

Supernova is the work of Rhiannon Neads of Stiff & Kitsch. It tells the story of Harry (Sam Swann) and Tess (Neads) through a series of vignettes. Their ‘meet cute’ happens at a party. Harry is flirting, Tess is guarded. As they discover a shared love of sci fi (to be fair they came as an astronaut and the 11th Doctor Who) she lowers her guard. They spend the night together and embark on a relationship. Only, after a while, something darker shows itself through emerging cracks. Tess’s mental health deteriorates, and as she retreats from the world she pushes Harry away with it. It’s a story about whether you can love someone who is perfect for you if you no longer love yourself.

Supernova

As I mentioned above, Supernova is structured as a series of vignettes. Harry and Tess meet, attend a silent disco, discuss what they would do if they had 30 seconds to live. The format of short scenes with quick changes is a tried and tested one to follow the arc of a relationship, as seen in Constellations and Lemons (x5). In fact the shared connection to space and astrophysics had me thinking of the former. Both have characters who use forces in space to understand and explain the world around them. But they also have their differences, namely that Constellations takes place in a multiverse and Supernova does not. This, along with restrained direction from Jessica Dromgoole, gives it an intimate feel. Tess and Harry’s story is heartbreaking because it feels so real, so close.

The immediacy is achieved in large part by the stripped-back world of Supernova. Other than one unnamed friend at the end of a phone and a couple of strangers at a silent disco, nobody other than Harry and Tess exists in this world. I could perhaps argue for a bit more character development for Harry outside of his relationship, but it is effective in maintaining a laser focus on the dynamics between the two. This is supported by set design (Sorcha Corcoran) which again strips things back to their essentials. Props remain in orbit until required. Lighting (Stuart Glover) brings scenes to life, whether isolating Tess and Harry in their own worlds, recreating a party or a museum late, or crackling with explosive stellar energy.

Final Thoughts

I very much enjoyed this tender story, and its tentatively hopeful conclusion. I felt so engaged in Tess and Harry’s budding relationship that it was a wrench to see the cracks appear. But through the full arc of their story, the wit of Neads’ writing kept the trajectory from being too linear. Neads as Tess transmits a soul-bearing honesty, while Swann strikes the right balance as Harry: caring even when he doesn’t understand, until he is pushed too far for his own mental health’s sake.

I have one piece of advice for you if you see Supernova: get a front row seat. To be closer to the action of course, but also because a lot of scenes take place with the characters lying or kneeling on the floor and the sight lines aren’t particularly good for this. At one stage I didn’t see Neals’ face for so long it was almost a surprise when she reemerged.

Otherwise this is a lovely piece of theatre, and shows a lot of promise as a debut play. A nerdy rom-com written with humour, pathos and love. Well worth seeing so get booking now.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5

Supernova on until 13 May 2023