Arcadia

This play, written by Stoppard in 1993, is set in an English stately home and tells two stories in parallel; one starting in 1809 and the other in the present day.  The characters in the present day are trying to piece together the events from the 19th century, but often fall short of complete accuracy. The action switches from one period to the other, culminating in both time periods existing concurrently in the drawing room for the final scene.  There are some very complex mathematical and scientific theories running throughout, which are difficult to digest in a theatre setting and produce a rather lengthy play that would perhaps have been more enjoyable with 30 minutes shaved off.  That said the whole cast coped remarkably well with these complexities and achieved a very high standard of acting throughout.

The costumes, makeup and hair throughout were excellently realised, despite the difficult task of sourcing costumes from two different centuries.

The simple set accommodated the action well but the rather monotonous interior walls could have benefited from a few pictures or even some printed wallpaper.  However, the furniture and props were very well chosen and, as a tortoise owner myself, I especially liked ‘Lightening’.  I did feel that the scene changes, undertaken by the three maids, were somewhat laboured and did slow down the pace at times.   They could probably have been handled more efficiently by the actors.

It takes a certain type of director to tackle a play with such a complex structure, themes and ideas and Dave Key-Pugh was the perfect choice. He managed to make sense of the intertwining timelines and produced a very entertaining, if a little long, production.

Many congratulations to the cast and crew.

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