Hannah Fields

Professor Yenish

THE-305 Fundamentals of Stage Management

30 August 2021

Arcadia Production Analysis

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard begins with a thirteen-year-old Thomasina and her tutor Septimus

discussing the “carnal embrace.” This is soon interrupted by Jellaby, who brings Septimus a letter. The

lesson continues for a moment, as Thomasina asks why we cannot un-stir jelly into pudding. This sparks a

conversation on Newton's law of motion, and Thomasina believes if we could stop every atom in motion

and get exceptional at algebra, we could write the future. Noakes, Lady Croom (mistress of the estate),

and Captain Edward Brice enter, and this conversation is interrupted. Lady Croom is upset because

Noakes wants to take away all the things that Lady Croom loves about Sidley Park, and she does not want

them gone. The scene changes to modern-day, in the same room as the past, to focus on Hannah, Chloe,

and Bernard. Hannah is looking for information on the Sidley Hermit. Bernard believes he has a copy of a

book containing documents attributed to Chater’s death in a duel with Lord Byron. He believes this dual

was because Chater’s wife was unfaithful. We shift back to the past, where Thomasina wants to write

equations that create nature, and Chater is still angry at Septimus because he thinks Septimus slept with

his wife, and while Septimus did, he disagrees that it was a negative thing and tells Chater that she asked

him to do it. Eventually, we get to the last scene of the play. There is no specific division between

periods, and both the past and present seem to be happening at once. Thomasina is now 16 and is learning

the second law of thermodynamics: heat is irreversible. Hannah and Bernard carry a book with a journal

entry stating that Chater had been killed by a monkey bite and not Lord Byron. Septimus and Thomasina

come together late at night, and Thomasina asks him to teach her to dance. He does so, kisses her, and

sends her to bed with a lit candle. Gus gives Hannah a picture Thomasina drew of Septumis, proving that

he was the hermit.

 The central idea of the play would be the difference between intellect and emotion. Thomasina

asks Septimus in the very beginning what carnal knowledge is. There are many other things Thomasina

brings up that talk about love, feelings, and general knowledge. Hannah, throughout the show, denies her

feelings and emotions. She brushes off Gus’ flirtations and argues with Bernard about his theory about

Chater and Lord Byron. In the end, however, just like Thomasina and Septimus, she ends up dancing with

Gus, and it is concluded that there is no separation between intelligence and emotions. Thomasina seems

to understand this, but Hannah fights with it throughout the show.

The play is set in Derbyshire, England, in 1809. The home that the story takes place in is what

would be called a stately home. The home is set in a typical English park, which can or cannot be seen

through the house's windows. This is up to the production team. The room is bare besides a table sitting in

the middle, a reading stand, and straight-backed chairs at the table. Both the past and the present will

share the same set, so it needs to be rather bare besides the previously stated furniture and any included

props.

The characters include:

- Thomasina Coverly: aged 13 (later 16), daughter to Lord and Lady Croom, and a brilliant child.

She is Septimus' student and theorizes the second law of thermodynamics and understands the

chaos theory. She has many questions about life and the way relationships work.

- Septimus Hodge: 22, Thomasina’s tutor. Septimus likes to work on his theories while tutoring

Thomasina, and often she tends to help him with it. He falls in love with her, and after her death,

he spends time trying to prove Thomasina’s theories.

- Hannah Jarvis: 30's, an author, trying to discover who the Hermit of Sidley Park is. Hannah is the

most academically knowledgeable in Arcadia. She has even rejected any romance from her life as

knowledge is more important to her. Hannah’s ideas are slightly less impressive than

Thomasina’s.
- Bernard Nightingale: 30’s, modern version of a fool. He tends to miss the truth while trying to

prove that Lord Byron killed Ezra Chater, and in the end, is embarrassed by Hannah when she

proves that his theory is false.

- Gus Coverly: 15, the mute of Sidley Park. He is a connecter between the past and the present and

knows where the ruined outbuilding is. He is also in the past part of the play.

- Jellaby: Middle-aged, a butler. He delivers many letters.

- Ezra Chater: 31, a poet. Chater’s wife is constantly cheating on him, and Chater accuses Septimus

of sleeping with her at one point. Bernard is convinced that Lord Byron killed Chater in a duel.

- Richard Noakes: Middle-aged landscaper. He comes in with the idea to take away too much of

Sidley Park for Lady Croom.

- Lady Croom: middle 30’s, Thomasina’s mother. The woman of the house who has no interest in

Noakes’ ideas to renovate Sidley Park.

- Captain Brice: mid-thirties, uncle to Thomasina. In love with Mrs. Chater and takes the Chaters

to Malta, where Ezra Chater dies.

- Chloe Coverly: 18, sister to Valentine and Gus. Seemingly like Thomasina in her understanding

of emotion vs. intellect.

- Valentine Coverly: 25, brother to Gus and Chloe. Mathematics student who occasionally shares

Thomasina’s work with Hannah.