Arcadia

Synopsis

The people and history of a country house. A dazzling elaborate comedy of ideas. This is Stoppard of 'Jumpers' and 'Travesties' fixed by sublime abstraction and human absurdity. The plot revolves on a scandal that rocked the household of Lady Croom almost 200 years ago: a sexual liaison, possibly involving Lord Byron and resulting in a fatal duel. But did events really take place as they seem, and how does the Croom's handsome and dashing young tutor and his brilliant pupil Thomasina fit into the story? All will be revealed or will it? First performed at the National Theatre in 1993, this is a dazzling comedy of ideas.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 5 June 2009

Tom Stoppard’s 1993 play, first seen at the National Theatre in a Trevor Nunn production that set new standards in high calibre country house comedy, was prompted by thoughts on the Chaos theory, the big bang, the sudden departure of Lord Byron to Europe and landscape gardening.

The action is poised between 1809 and the present day, and set in the one large cream-coloured drawing room. The scenes of revelation and discovery – it’s a thriller, too, with sexual congress muddying the waters of a war between poets – operate like a pincer movement in a profusion of words and wit before dissolving in a final waltz down the years.

There’s not a dud line in the whole piece, and David Leveaux’s revival, designed by Hildegard Bechtler and costumed by Amy Roberts, never puts a foot wrong and maintains a high level of intellectual energy throughout.

In the first scene, the precocious child Thomasina Coverly (Jessie Cave) asks h...

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Latest User Review

DW - 30 August 2009:

Just had to respond to the most recent comment. I sat in the middle of the stalls when I saw this in June and could hear every word. Having seen the legendary original production, I was worried this one would pale by comparison--but I thought it every bit as good. Stoppard's masterpiece, one of the greatest plays of the 20th century....

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