Arcadia

ARCADIA

Also by Tom Stoppard

Plays

The Hard Problem

Enter a Free Man

The Real Inspector Hound

After Magritte

Jumpers

Travesties

Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

Night and Day

Dogg’s Hamlet and Cahoot’s Macbeth

Undiscovered Country

(adapted from Arthur Schnitzler’s Das weite Land)

On the Razzle

(adapted from Johann Nestroy’s Einen Jux will er sich machen)

The Real Thing

Rough Crossing

(adapted from Ferenc Molnár’s Play at the Castle)

Dalliance

(adapted from Arthur Schnitzler’s Liebelei)

Hapgood

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead

Indian Ink

(an adaptation of In the Native State)

The Invention of Love

Voyage: The Coast of Utopia Part I

Shipwreck: The Coast of Utopia Part II

Salvage: The Coast of Utopia Part III

Rock ‘n’ Roll

The Coast of Utopia: A Trilogy

Television Scripts

A Separate Peace

Teeth

Another Moon Called Earth

Neutral Ground

Professional Foul

Squaring the Circle

Parade’s End

Fiction

Lord Malquist & Mr. Moon

TOM STOPPARD

ARCADIA

Grove Press

New York

Copyright © 1993 by Tom Stoppard

Cover artwork © Nattle/Shutterstock

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CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that Arcadia is subject to a royalty. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and all British Commonwealth countries, and all countries covered by the International Copyright Union, the Pan-American Copyright Convention, and the Universal Copyright Convention. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, recitation, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound taping, all other forms of mechanical or electronic reproduction, such as information storage and retrieval systems and photocopying, and rights of translation into foreign languages, are strictly reserved.

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Printed in the United States of America

Originally published in 1993 by Faber and Faber Ltd., Great Britain

Published in 1994 in the United States by Faber and Faber, Inc.

First Grove Press paperback edition: July 2017

ISBN 978-0-8021-2699-3

eISBN 978-0-8021-8918-9

Grove Press

an imprint of Grove Atlantic

154 West 14th Street

New York, NY 10011

Distributed by Publishers Group West

groveatlantic.com

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Arcadia opened at the Lyttelton Theatre, Royal National Theatre, on 13 April 1993.

The cast was as follows:

Thomasina Coverly Emma Fielding

Septimus Hodge Rufus Sewell

Jellaby Allan Mitchell

Ezra Chater Derek Hutchinson

Richard Noakes Sidney Livingstone

Lady Croom Harriet Walter

Captain Brice, RN Graham Sinclair

Hannah Jarvis Felicity Kendal

Chloë Coverly Harriet Harrison

Bernard Nightingale Bill Nighy

Valentine Coverly Samuel West

Gus Coverly & Augustus Coverly Timothy Matthews

Director Trevor Nunn

Designer Mark Thompson

Lighting Paul Pyant

Music Jeremy Sams

The New York premier of Arcadia was produced by the Lincoln Center, and opened on March 31, 1995, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

The cast was as follows:

Thomasina Coverly Jennifer Dundas

Septimus Hodge Billy Crudup

Jellaby Richard Clarke

Ezra Chater Paul Giamatti

Richard Noakes Peter Maloney

Lady Croom Lisa Banes

Captain Brice, RN David Manis

Hannah Jarvis Blair Brown

Chloë Coverly Haviland Morris

Bernard Nightingale Victor Garber

Valentine Coverly Robert Sean Leonard

Gus Coverly & Augustus Coverly John Griffin

Director Trevor Nunn

Designer Mark Thompson

Lighting Paul Pyant

Music Charles Bugbee III

The play was revived in the West End, opening on May 27, 2009, at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Robert G. Bartner, and Roger Berlind.

The cast was as follows:

Thomasina Coverly Jessie Cave

Septimus Hodge Dan Stevens

Jellaby Sam Cox

Ezra Chater George Potts

Richard Noakes Trevor Cooper

Lady Croom Nancy Carroll

Captain Brice, RN Tom Hodgkins

Hannah Jarvis Samantha Bond

Chloë Coverly Lucy Griffiths

Bernard Nightingale Neil Pearson

Valentine Coverly Ed Stoppard

Gus Coverly & Augustus Coverly Hugh Mitchell

Director David Leveaux

Designer Hildegard Bechtler

Lighting Paul Anderson

Music Simon Baker

The play was revived on Broadway, opening on March 17, 2011, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Roger Berlind, Stephanie P. McClelland, Scott M. Delman, Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz, Disney Theatrical Group, Robert G. Bartner, Olympus Theatricals, and Douglas G. Smith in association with Janine Safer Whitney.

The cast was as follows:

Thomasina Coverly Bel Powley

Septimus Hodge Tom Riley

Jellaby Edward James Hyland

Ezra Chater David Turner

Richard Noakes Byron Jennings

Lady Croom Margaret Colin

Captain Brice, RN Glenn Fleshler

Hannah Jarvis Lia Williams

Chloë Coverly Grace Gummer

Bernard Nightingale Billy Crudup

Valentine Coverly Raúl Esparza

Gus Coverly & Augustus Coverly Noah Robbins

Director David Leveaux

Designer Hildegard Bechtler

Lighting Donald Holder

Music Corin Buckeridge

CHARACTERS

(in order of appearance)

Thomasina Coverly, aged thirteen, later sixteen

Septimus Hodge, her tutor, aged twenty-two, later twenty-five

Jellaby, a butler, middle-aged

Ezra Chater, a poet, aged thirty-one

Richard Noakes, a landscape architect, middle-aged

Lady Croom, middle thirties

Capt. Brice, RN, middle thirties

Hannah Jarvis, an author, late thirties

Chloë Coverly, aged eighteen

Bernard Nightingale, a don, late thirties

Valentine Coverly, aged twenty-five to thirty

Gus Coverly, aged fifteen

Augustus Coverly, aged fifteen

ACT ONE

Scene i

A room on the garden front of a very large country house in Derbyshire in April I809. Nowadays, the house would be called a stately home. The upstage wall is mainly tall, shapely, uncurtained windows, one or more of which work as doors. Nothing much need be said or seen of the exterior beyond. We come to learn that the house stands in the typical English park of the time. Perhaps we see an indication of this, perhaps only light and air and sky.

The room looks bare despite the large table which occupies the centre of it. The table, the straight-backed chairs and, the only other item of furniture, the architect’s stand or reading stand, would all be collectable pieces now but here, on an uncarpeted wood floor, they have no more pretension than a schoolroom, which is indeed the main use of this room at this time. What elegance there is, is architectural, and nothing is impressive but the scale. There is a door in each of the side walls. These are closed, but one of the French windows is open to a bright but sunless morning.

There are two people, each busy with books and paper and pen and ink, separately occupied. The pupil is THOMASINA COVERLY, aged 13. The tutor is SEPTIMUS HODGE, aged 22. Each has an open book. Hers is a slim mathematics primer. His is a handsome thick quarto, brand new, a vanity production, with little tapes to tie when the book is closed. His loose papers, etc, are kept in a stiff-backed portfolio which also ties up with tapes.

Septimus has a tortoise which is sleepy enough to serve as a paperweight.

Elsewhere on the table there is an old-fashioned theodolite and also some other books stacked up.

THOMASINA Septimus, what is carnal embrace?

SEPTIMUS Carnal embrace is the practice of throwing one’s arms around a side of beef.

THOMASINA Is that all?

SEPTIMUS No . . . a shoulder of mutton, a haunch of venison well hugged, an embrace of grouse . . . caro, carnis; feminine; flesh.

THOMASINA Is it a sin?

SEPTIMUS Not necessarily, my lady, but when carnal embrace is sinful it is a sin of the flesh, QED. We had caro in our Gallic Wars—‘The Britons live on milk and meat’—‘lacte et carne vivunt’. I am sorry that the seed fell on stony ground.

THOMASINA That was the sin of Onan, wasn’t it, Septimus?

SEPTIMUS Yes. He was giving his brother’s wife a Latin lesson and she was hardly the wiser after it than before. I thought you were finding a proof for Fermat’s last theorem.

THOMASINA It is very difficult, Septimus. You will have to show me how.

SEPTIMUS If I knew how, there would be no need to ask you. Fermat’s last theorem