Arcadia

Arcadia photos

Arcadia description

The 'ingenious and frisky masterpiece'Arcadia comes from the pen of one of Britain's finest playwrights, the award-winning Tom Stoppard (Leopoldstadt, The Invention of Love, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Shakespeare in Love). Directed by Carrie Cracknell (Sea Wall/A Life, The Grapes of Wrath), who is on her Old Vic debut, it'll be staged in the round. Set at a country estate owned by the Coverlys, the play moves backwards and forwards from 1809 to the present. As the lovely old Arcadian gardens are being re-made in trendy Gothic style, 13 year old Lady Thomasina and her tutor explore the intellectual and romantic issues of the early 1800s. In the 2020s, her descendants are researching a scandal involving Lord Byron, aided by two competing scholars.

The premier won an Olivier for Best Play, so it's great to see it back in town for the first time since 2009. The Set Designer is Alex Eales and the Costume Designer is Suzanne Cave. The Lighting is by Guy Hoare, the Sound by Donato Wharton, and the Movement by Ira Mandela Siobhan. The Composer is Stuart Earl and the Casting comes from Serena Hill CDG. Being part of Artistic Director Matthew Warchus's final season, we predict tickets are going to sell fast.

Playing at Old Vic Theatre (venue info)