Jake Gyllenhaal last starred on the big screen in the critically acclaimed film Nightcrawler. Photo: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Romance is intertwined with string theory, quantum mechanics and the idea of parallel universes in Constellations, a two-character play starring Jake Gyllenhaal and British actress Ruth Wilson in their Broadway debuts.

The 70-minute work by British playwright Nick Payne, which was first staged at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2012, opened last week with the New York Times hailing it as possibly the “most sophisticated date play Broadway has seen”.

Like the musical If/Then, starring Tony winner Idina Menzel, Constellations explores the varied ways love can evolve, chance decisions and different paths lives take.

The Hollywood Reporter described it as “a hypnotic reflection on life, love and mortality, viewed via quantum multiverse theory”.

Gyllenhaal, 34, a best Oscar nominee for Brokeback Mountain who is riding high after his star turn as a driven journalist in the critically acclaimed film Nightcrawler, is Roland, a sensible, grounded beekeeper.

After meeting at a rainy barbecue he falls for a quirky quantum physicist played by Wilson, 33, a Golden Globe winner for her role as an adulteress in the Showtime TV series The Affair.

Their initial, awkward meeting and relationship is played out in numerous, alternating scenarios on a stark, black stage with clusters of white balloons hanging overhead. Flashes of light and dark signify each change, or different path their lives can take.

“Gyllenhaal is subtly wonderful as the earthy, calm Roland, though in some variations he reveals petulance and frustration,” said the New York Post newspaper.

The New York Times described his performance as a “magnificent work of understatement,” while the Hollywood Reporter found him entirely natural in the role and his English accent flawless.

The trade journal Variety praised his leading man good looks and chameleon character-acting skills.

“Here he gets to play someone whose character changes from minute to minute, and he’s pretty amazing,” it added about the actor, whose sister Maggie Gyllenhaal, made her debut on Broadway in The Real Thing in October.