Search

Saved articles

You have not yet added any article to your bookmarks!

Browse articles

GDPR Compliance

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.

Arcadia

 
Paul T. Davies Review by Paul T. Davies 4 Published: 2 Jul 2026 Duke of York's Theatre Show Dates: 25 Jun 2026-12 Sep 2026

With its themes of chaos theory, iterated algorithms, and advanced mathematics, Arcadia can be an anxiety-inducing experience for a confirmed maths failure such as I. However, in this feisty revival at the Duke of York’s Theatre (about to be renamed the Tom Stoppard Theatre), it quickly becomes apparent that it’s Stoppard’s immense wit that powers the play. The opening scene, between precocious and brilliant Thomasina and her tutor Septimus Hodge, trying to bat aside her enquiries about “carnal embrace”, establishes the tone and style quickly. Moving between the past (1809 and 1812) and “the present”, archive material is discovered that excites the modern-day academics, both in the fields of science and those obsessed with Lord Byron, the unseen cast member who influences events in the past. However, as we witness the truth of those events, every scribbled message takes on meaning as we head towards a poignant conclusion.

It's worth being in your seat for possibly the best ensemble in London.

At nearly three hours long, it’s thanks to an excellent ensemble that the play remains lively. They are superb at conveying their characters’ passions, making niche and highbrow subjects seem like everyday conversation. Lord Byron is discussed with as much passion as an England football fan discusses their team, Oliver Chris, as the arrogant academic Bernard Nightingale, making the most of his “posh boy” persona here, hilarious throughout. His match is the superb Nikki Amuka-Bird, her insistence on evidence puncturing Nightingale’s pomposity with delight. It all hinges around an annotated volume of The Couch of Eros by Ezra Chater, and Matthew Steer shines as the cuckolded poet, sexual politics and infidelity never far away if Lord Byron is a house guest. Isis Hainsworth as Thomasina is outstanding, perfectly paired with Seamus Dillane as Septimus, and there isn’t a weak link in the cast. It’s worth being in your seat for possibly the best ensemble in the West End.

Carrie Cracknell has directed a pacey production, in which the cast’s enjoyment conveys itself to the audience. Alex Eales’s design, whilst having an effective lighting structure, minimises the grandeur of a country house, however, although it does mark the passage of time clearly. And there does come a point when it feels that Stoppard is layering far too many theories into his text. But as the characters dance towards an ending that has been signposted for us, the real winner is not solely science or art, but the imagination. And Stoppard’s was formidable.

Related to this article:

Location:

Performances

The Blurb:

Set in a country house in Derbyshire, Arcadia follows two intertwined storylines across time. In the early 19th century, a teenage prodigy named Thomasina Coverly discovers mathematical truths about chaos and thermodynamics, while the adults around her - tutors, guests, and the household - attempt to discipline her passion with reason. Meanwhile, in the 1990s, scholars descend on the same estate, chasing the ghosts of that earlier era, seeking proof, revelation - and perhaps each other.

Pulsing with themes of order and disorder, the irreversible flow of time, the intersection of intellect and emotion, poetry and physics, Arcadia is brilliant, funny and deeply moving. Making its West End premiere after its initial staging at The Old Vic, the in‑the‑round staging of this revival heightens the play’s sense of immersion and immediacy.