ARCADIA

ARCADIA - the PLAY
An extraordinary play by Tom Stoppard.
Where was Lord Byron on the evening of 10 April 1809?

Part detective story, part romance, part farce, part exploration of chaos theory, part satire of academia, with literature, sex and gardening through the ages thrown in for good measure.

EXCERPT FROM NEWSPAPER REVIEW of ARCADIA, 22 June 1998. (Other reviews will follow)

"By staging Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in the Port of Otago Gallery of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin collective WOW! Productions has chosen well. . . .An almost full house attended and appreciated Friday's opening night performance. Arcadia is a dense play full of literary allusions, witty one-liners and many-layered wordplay. . . . A cast of 13 makes a difficult task for a reviewer when all are deserving of mention.
Serena Cotton stood out as Lady Thomasina Coverly, bringing both a youthful freshness and poise to the role. Edwin Wright (Septimus Hodge) is an actor whose development I have watched with interest and his performance reaffirmed my high opinion of his aptitude. Barry Dorking was brilliant as the arrogant academic Bernard Nightingale, and Caroline Claver as his intellectual sparring partner, Hannah Jarvis, conveyed as much with her physical stance as with her well-paced delivery.
I not only recommend Arcadia unreservedly, I intend to see it again during its three week run."

Caroline Claver (Hannah) & Lloyd Edwards (Valentine)
VALENTINE: Lend me a finger. See? In an ocean of ashes, islands of order. Patterns making themselves out of nothing. I can't show you how deep it goes. Each picture is a detail of the previous one blown up. And so on. For ever. Pretty nice, eh?

Edwin Wright (Septimus) & Serena Cotton (Thomasina) in the final scene of ARCADIA.

THOMASINA: Septimus! Shush! Now is our chance!
SEPTIMUS: For what, dear God?
THOMASINA: Do not act the innocent. Tomorrow I will be seventeen. ( She kisses Septimus on the mouth.) There!
SEPTIMUS: Dear Christ!
THOMASINA: Now you must show me, you are paid in advance.

Photo credits: Reg Graham

View other photos from the Dunedin production

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ARCADIA - the PLAY An extraordinary play by Tom Stoppard. Where was Lord Byron on the evening of 10 April 1809? Part detective story, part romance, part farce, part exploration of chaos theory, part satire of academia, with literature, sex and gardening through the ages thrown in for good measure.

ARCADIA - the PLAY

ARCADIA - the PLAY
An extraordinary play by Tom Stoppard.
Where was Lord Byron on the evening of 10 April 1809?

Part detective story, part romance, part farce, part exploration of chaos theory, part satire of academia, with literature, sex and gardening through the ages thrown in for good measure.