Orbital scene guide

Orbit 1, ascending

Roman wakes before dawn and watches night give way to sunrise over Africa, marking another day in a life measured by tallies, time zones, and repeated orbits. He thinks about how space “shreds time” and how the crew must keep to Earth time even while circling far above it. A memory of Las Meninas makes Shaun’s old questions about perspective feel newly alive, and the chapter turns toward Chie’s grief after her mother’s death, as the others struggle to comfort her while looking down at the earth, now feeling like “Mother Earth” itself.

Explore the full study guide

Major characters

Earth · Earth is the crew’s “suspended jewel,” a radiant, borderless presence that inspires wonder, love and a need to protect it. Both mother and home, it anchors the astronauts while exposing humanity’s divisions and harm.
Mother · Chie’s Japanese mother is remembered as “one of a kind”: tough, direct and emotionally reserved. A survivor of the Nagasaki bombing as a baby, she quietly shapes Chie’s courage and fascination with space.
Roman · Roman is a capable Russian cosmonaut and commander whose precision makes him the spaceship’s “hands.” His careful daily tally reveals a disciplined man using order to stay grounded as orbit unsettles time.
Chie · Chie is a disciplined Japanese astronaut whose “methodical and fearless” mind meets the demands of orbit. Quietly self-contained, she is memorable for the courage and tenderness beneath her restraint.
Anton · Anton is a quiet Russian cosmonaut, “dry in his humour” yet deeply sentimental, who becomes the “spaceship’s heart.” His warmth and sensitivity help hold the crew together as they face isolation far from home.
Pietro · Pietro is an Italian astronaut whose “deep curiosity” and calm judgement make him the station’s thoughtful, optimistic mind. His humour, care for his crewmates and longing for home keep cosmic wonder grounded in human connection.

Key themes

Planetary Unity · Earth’s “edgeless edge” introduces the planet as a shared home whose natural wholeness makes borders seem artificial. Connected lands, seas and light call humanity towards collective belonging and care.
Community · Confinement makes the six crew members “so together” that national and personal differences yield to shared survival. Their “floating family” shows how care and cooperation make humanity feel close and graspable.
Time · Orbital time becomes cyclical as “the days rush” through repeated orbits, sunrises and routines. Memory folds past and future into the present, renewing wonder while making human life feel brief.
Grief · Chie’s “My mother has died” makes grief feel heavy even in weightlessness. Memory and the crew’s quiet care show that loss deepens attachment to home, Earth and others.

Why it matters

Use this scene to connect the characters, language, and themes in the wider play.

Important quotations

“They’re just old thoughts born into new moments – and in these moments is the thought: without that earth we are all finished.”
Reflects on grief returning through Chie’s repeated thoughts (Orbit 1, ascending)
“Space shreds time to pieces.”
Describes Roman’s struggle to anchor time (Orbit 1, ascending)
“Space shreds time to pieces.”
Explains how orbit breaks ordinary time (Orbit 1, ascending)
“Since Chie came to the galley on Friday evening where they were making dinner, her face colourless with shock, and said, My mother has died.”
Announces her mother’s death to the crew (Orbit 1, into orbit 2)
“Since Chie came to the galley on Friday evening where they were making dinner, her face colourless with shock, and said, My mother has died.”
Chie announces her mother’s death to the crew
“And Shaun let go of his packet of noodles so that it floated above the table, and Pietro swam the three feet towards her, bowed his head and took both of her hands with a choreography so seamless you’d have thought it was prepared, and Nell muttered something indecipherable, a question – what?”
Pietro silently comforts Chie after she shares her loss (Orbit 2)