Sex,
maths and low-brow literature come together to form Tom Stoppard's
fascinating exploration of what it's all about and where will it
end. 'Arcadia' this year can be found in the secluded President's
garden at Magdalen College. The play lends itself well to an outdoor
production, and the gradual nightfall casts a spell which heightens
suspension of disbelief.
The
play divides its attention between two sets of characters: one in
Byron's Romantic period and the other in modern day, occupying the
same English stately home, which Magdalen's ornately pretty garden
and enclosing stone walls evoke effectively. As they engage themselves
in intellectual jousting bouts, the surroundings support them; frustrated
mathematician Valentine Coverly (Will Muirhead) agonises over the
'noise' disrupting the formulaic patterns of nature and is echoed
by a passing plane and loud birdsong; he hypothesises that everything
reaches room temperature ultimately, while the audience shiver and
wish this were so (dress warmly!).
The
complex verbal dodges and clever deductions with which Stoppard
stuffs his plays are articulated wonderfully clearly by the young
Magdalen Players, with especially strong performances from Lucy
Foster (19th century schoolgirl maths genius Thomasina Coverly),
Rob Hayward (arrogant academic Bernard Nightingale) and Emma Jenkinson
(literary historian Hannah Jarvis). Stoppard tosses ideas into his
cerebral melting pot and turns up the heat until the centuries collide
peaceably in the last waltz. A captivating performance of a compelling
play.
