Product Description

Arcadia is a brilliantly inventive play that moves back and forth between centuries, populated by a varied and vastly entertaining cast of characters who discuss such topics as the nature of truth and time, the difference between the classical and the romantic temperament, and the disruptive influence of sex on our orbits in life-according to the author, "the attraction which Newton left out.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24061 in Books
• Published on: 1994-09-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 97 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780571169344
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Tom Stoppard's other work includes Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Tony Award), Jumpers, Travesties (Tony Award), Night and Day, After Margritte, The Real Thing (Tony Award), Enter a Free Man, Hapgood, Arcadia (Evening Standard Award, The Oliver Award and the Critics Award), Dalliance and Undiscovered Country, Indian Ink (a stage adaptation of his own play, In the Native State) and The Invention of Love.

His radio plays include The Dissolution of Dominic Boot, 'M' is for Moon Among Other Things, If You're Glad I'll Be Frank, Albert's Bridge (Italia Prize), Where Are They Now?, Artist Descending A Staircase, The Dog It Was That Died and In the Native State (Sony Award).

His work for television includes Professional Foul (Bafta Award, Broadcasting Press Guild Award). His film credits include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead which he also directed (winner of the Golden Lion, Venice Film Festival).

From AudioFile
Part romance, part mystery, and part philosophical exploration, this play takes place in one location and two centuries. In a British country manor during the early nineteenth century, Thomasina, a precocious teenager, flirts with her tutor while making stunning scientific discoveries. Examining the period in alternating scenes are three modern-day researchers. One seeks to learn if Lord Byron, as rumored, killed one of the manor's inhabitants; one tries to identify a mysterious hermit who once lived there; the third explores the biology of the manor's fauna. As usual with Stoppard, the dialogue sparkles, and more lurks under the text than on its surface. Jennifer Dundas, as Thomasina, steals the show from her excellent cast mates, not only imbuing her young character with intelligence but with an irresistibly endearing charm. Y.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

It's about the second law of thermodynamics
Stoppard again weaves philosophy, science, history and literature into a drama. Although the play is really about the second law of thermodynamics (which says that the universe is gradually becoming more, not less, diffuse and chaotic), we get a merry dose of literature (Byron). There is an oblique nod to Lady Ada Lovelace, Byron's daughter, who worked with mathematician Charles Babbage in developing the theory of the programmable computer. That nod is manifest as the budding genius Thomasina, who works out theromodynamics and chaos theory (in the early 19th Century!) as the landscape gardeners outside gradually follow romanticism and turn her mother's manicured garden into a more natural (read chaotic) environment.

The real surprise comes when the the early 19th century scene is invaded by 20th century characters who are trying to piece together exactly what happened here nearly 200 years previously. A doomed enterprise, Thomasina could have told them. The Second Law of Thermodynamics says you cannot recapture the past.

Wonderful and important dramatic work.
I've been trying to get away from the sort of highbrow self-referential philosophical literature that one thinks of when they hear the name Stoppard, but after reading Arcadia I found that this reputation proved to be only half the story.

Don't get me wrong-- Arcadia is an intellectual work of drama. It can be read and analyzed for symbolism and layering and all the fun that one typically associates with "Great Literature". Stoppard demands elementary knowledge of thermodynamics (entropy), modern mathematics (iterations and chaos theory), gardening history (Classic/Romantic), and literary history (Byron, Romanticism, etc.) There is tons of symbolism and contrast and notions about human nature. But despite all the intellectual games and word play, Arcadia manages to retain a profound sense of humanness.

The characters are vibrant and full of desire. They are not merely facades through which Stoppard can show off his literary prowess. Arcadia is simply a wonderful story. In the end, one cares about the characters and this is what redeems the play from mere intellectual showmanship. The plot moves and weaves and twists and if you can follow it, the play is truly rewarding.

My only misgiving is that I never got to see Arcadia in production. The last scene incorporates two different time periods on the same stage as they couples dance side by side in almost mirror image. I would have loved to see it done on stage and I'm eagerly awaiting an Arcadia revival.

Brilliant and heartbreakingly beautiful
Arcadia is a masterpiece!

Only Stoppard could weave modern physics, classical literature, piercing wit, sensuous history, astounding absurdities, and sparkling innocence into a web so fresh, so complex, so deeply touching as to open a doorway into the hidden engine-rooms under the world.

I say none of this lightly. I have read many plays and none have succeeded in moving me--mind, body, and soul--the way Arcadia has.

Let the intellectual acrobatics wash over you if that is not your cup of tea, but read it, nonetheless.