Algorithms, parallelisms and Enlightenment abound Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia – the production selected by Nottingham Playhouse to conclude their Time and Memory season this year. Director Giles Croft intended to culminate the season with a touch of paradise. Set in a dignified estate in Derbyshire, and with the incorporation of Lord Byron in the plot, local residents will no doubt connect the play with their own heritage. Arcadia, then, seems a distinctly obvious choice to include in a season celebrating the impact of our past upon our present.
With the incorporation of Lord Byron in the plot, local residents will no doubt connect the play with their own heritage.
Stoppard’s work darts between two time frames, 1809 and 1993. He scrutinises the activities of a contemporary family interacting with academic scholars whilst occupying Sidley Park, against the actions of the occupants of 1809. As both plots unravel and gradually intertwine, the studies of the present day scholars bring to light the truth about the history of Thomasina and Septimus, her tutor. Thomasina, a thirteen-year-old child prodigy under Septimus’ guidance, explores iterated algorithms whereupon the solution to one equation produces a value that is used in the next. This merging of the unpredictable and the preordained is admirably visually represented by designer Madeleine Girling. Credit is due to her strategic placement of props that remain in one place, no matter which actor they are brought in by, for both present and past contexts. Girling’s single setting, a beautifully furnished atrium with an imaginably spectacular view, aided Croft sufficiently in achieving his vision of portraying the ‘magic’ of the Nottinghamshire landscape.
This merging of the unpredictable and the preordained is admirably visually represented by designer Madeleine Girling
As well as unity of setting, parallelisms between characters were key in demonstrating the undeniable link between the then and now. Emily Laing’s portrayal of Thomasina was particularly dazzling, her first-class imitation of an impatient, but wholly engaged and incredibly academically alert, young girl won the audience’s affection. Her sexual naivety provided a refreshing comic relief that ensured spectators remained engaged with the heavier physics, mathematics, literary allusions and philosophy abundant throughout Arcadia.
Emily Laing’s portrayal of Thomasina was particularly dazzling
However, Laing’s captivating performance slightly overshadowed that of her contemporary equivalent in the play: Chloe, played by Florence Roberts. This was perhaps due to Roberts’ character being more challenging for the audience to identify so lovingly with, given that Chloe’s coming-of-age is, unlike Thomasina’s, totally absent. Nonetheless, this production is both actresses’ professional stage debut, and each handled their respective roles intricately.
this production is both actresses’ professional stage debut, and each handled their respective roles intricately
The final scene was one of notable enlightenment: the audience finally understood the place of humankind within the universe through Stoppard’s clever dream-like sequence that interlaced past and present characters physically as well as in relation to iterated algorithms. Unfortunately, the final dance felt less than satisfying, partly owing to the soundtrack lacking in audible quality, and resembling sounds more appropriate to a carnival-like scene than a refined stately home. However, this sense of insufficiency also stemmed from loose ends deliberately left by Stoppard. His apparent desire to depict the continuous altering of the present through the past, via not entirely concluding his work, interrupted sentiments of satisfaction here.
Unfortunately, the final dance felt less than satisfying, partly owing to the soundtrack lacking in audible quality
Croft’s version of Arcadia is a performance full of colour and vibrancy achieved through animate facial expression and stunning interaction between actors that reflects his main goal appropriately: to provoke a lively and magnificent adoration of the Nottinghamshire environment and its people.
Vicky Lorriman
I think you’ve confused the roles of the designer and the director here- that is, I don’t think the designer has anything to do with the where the props are placed! Otherwise a well written article!
Clearly the best article that’s ever been published online. Absolutely incredible, flawless work, the author should be proud of this colossal literary achievement. Great stuff.