Here I am in Arcadia!

Here is my informal review of Arcadia by Tom Stoppard as seen at the Duke of York's in London on July 4, 2009.

The actress playing Thomasina was a little disappointing. Her posture was atrocious and she had this way of bobbing her head with every emphatic word. She pronounced every word as if she were a child trying to make she she sounded like an adult. This would have been an excellent acting choice if she had changed at all during the production, since she is supposed to begin at 13 and 10 months and end at 16 years and 364 days. Her acting style did not grow with the character. Disappointing.

My favorite was Ed Stoppard as Valentine, and this is not because he is Tom Stoppard's son. He is simply a FANTASTIC actor and his portrayal of Valentine was superb. The way that I read Valentine was entirely different than what was portrayed. It was a delightful surprise. Valentine is much more sarcastic in life than on the page. Or maybe I was simply too dense to see it. On the page, Valentine seemed much more introverted or like he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to anyone else but his grouse. Stoppard's physicality really worked for the character. He looked introverted while also engaging the room with lots of energy. He would hunch his shoulders, with hands in pockets, head bent, yet whizz Bernard with some comment or another. It showed Valentine to be much more attentive to his surroundings than I read him to be. Or when he sat on the table that dominated the stage, he would sit in a prominent V shape - again, hunched shoulders, with his hands tucked between his legs. Or busily engaged in feeding his tortoise. It felt as though he were totally involved in his character.

Septimus was delightful! As a character, Tom Stoppard drew him (in my opinion) to be a sort of counter to Valentine. An introverted sarcastic bloke who just so happens to be incredibly intelligent. He was extraordinarily played. Every gesture, every facial expression built towards the illustration of the complex character of Septimus Hodge, the fancy of Hannah's work.

Hannah and Bernard were just as I imagined. Exciting, larger than life characters pitted against one another in the name of knowledge, or in Bernard's case, infamy. Excellent performances that lived up to the character written.

I've always thought that it would be fun to play Lady Croom. She looked as though she was having fun, and I certainly enjoyed it. Nothing notable, except for maybe the posh turn of voice she put on every once and a while to indicate her aristocratic status. I wished she might have used it more often. The costumes she wore were hmmmmm good! The colors were so vibrant and she wore her clothes with the dignity of a noblewoman.

The final scenes of Arcadia still baffle me. Maybe that's why I return to it time and time again. Searching for answers and meaning, just like Valentine, Hannah, Thomasina, Septimus, and Bernard. I think in the end, Chloe is the one who gets it right. The universe is determined, but when people fancy one another when they're not supposed to, everything changes. Sex, literature, grouse, game books, letters. What exactly is that mystery that Thomasina knows? Funny how doing the right and moral upstanding thing can destroy others. Funny thing that savant among idiots.