Arcadia at the Old Vic

Set in one room in a country house in Derbyshire, centuries apart,  the mysteries of the universe and those a bit closer to home are explored.   The set is in the round, a single circular space with circular lights and globes above, suggesting the universe; the staging really makes the most of this set up.  The two worlds  of the 19th and late 20th century overlap and sometimes intermingle in this clever, deceptively simple production.  

In the 19th century, Thomasina (Isis Hainsworth) is learning about Euclidian geometry, Fermat's last theorem and latin, but also about love, and why a house guest has been discovered in a carnal embrace with her tutor, Septimus Hodge (Seamus Dillane). Their conversations are fond and bantering, and also pretty funny, as it becomes clear that Septimus is in the centre of plenty of romantic intrigue at the house and using his considerable charm to ensure he escapes any potential trouble.  He's also a contemporary of Byron, and dabbles in literary criticism. At the same time Thomasina's mother is not enjoying her old formal gardens being dug up and replaced with the latest fashionable romantic style, so there's a lot going on, touching on classic farce and it's very enjoyable.

Meanwhile, in the 1980s a group of academics  are researching the history of the garden but there’s also a literary intrigue that may involve Septimus and Lord Byron and there is a matching sparring match going on there too between Bernard Nightingale (Prasanna Puwanarajah) (a bombastic literary academic trying to sell his theory about Byron) , whilst star academic Hannah Jarvis (Leila Farzad) thinks he is talking nonsense.  At the same time, the current day Lord of the Manor is following up on  Thomasina's theories documented in her notebooks and finds that with modern computing power they can be proved.  Whilst the 1980s story is less compelling it entwines beautifully with the 19th century story, turning the whole thing into a detective story or intellectual puzzle alongside the developing relationships.  

The dialogue throughout is sparkling and rich, and it’s also funny and warm.  Although it is a bit too long, and I can’t pretend to have followed everything that was being said, particularly around the science, it is also beautiful, full of wonder and joy alongside the maths and scientific theories. .  The ending was just lovely, dancing through the universe. I can see why it is sometimes cited as Stoppard's masterpiece.