The Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club’s recent production of “Arcadia” masterfully intertwined intellect and emotion, showcasing the dedication and talent of the cast and crew in four shows from March 27 to March 30. The events of the play unfolded in Sidley Park, an English estate, shifting between the early 19th century and the present day as characters grappled with love, knowledge, and the passage of time.
On opening night, I took my seat in the front row of Agassiz Theatre, eager for the performance to begin. The stage was arranged with a backdrop of warm yellow walls, flanked by doors on either side. In the middle of the stage stood a wooden table, the play’s symbolic centerpiece, that would bridge the two timelines over the next three hours.
The audience first meets 13-year-old Lady Thomasina (Natalie Bernstein ’28), a mathematics prodigy, and her 22-year-old tutor, Septimus Hodge (Jack Griffin ’25) in the 1809 timeline. The two were seated at the wooden table as Lady Thomasina questioned Septimus about her math assignment, an opening scene that immediately established their intellectual dynamic.
Ben Arthurs ’27, the first-time director of “Arcadia,” shared that the table, and clutter on it, was one of the “little details” that was so “intentionally thought out.” While seemingly just a piece of furniture, the table served as a crucial link between past and present as characters from both timelines find themselves seated around the table.
Yet, as Arthurs emphasized, these carefully placed details are only part of the production’s impact. “The most important thing is that [the audience] gets the emotions happening on stage and the relationships between the characters,” he told the Independent. “We really try to make it as much about the characters and people as much as possible.”
The production’s focus was clear through the actors’ performances. It was especially evident in the opening scene of the 1809 timeline: Ezra Chater (Vander Ritchie ’26), the poet-biologist, burst into Thomasina’s lesson to confront Septimus for sleeping with his wife, Lady Croom (Micah Anderson ’28), who was clearly the authority figure on the estate.
The interaction was packed with humor, with the actors fully embracing their roles through dramatic door slams and exaggerated expressions of outrage. Their energetic performances kept the scene lively, earning more than a few chuckles from the audience as Septimus smoothly charmed Mr. Chater out of his fury and into good spirits.
As the scene from 1809 faded, the audience was thrust into the present with the slam of a door and the chatter of two new voices. From discussions of modern technology and the contemporary attire of Chloë Coverly (Megan Blonigen ’28), it was immediately clear that we were no longer in the 19th century.
Both the writing and directing clearly communicated shifts from one timeline to another. From fading candlelight to the gunshot echoing in the background as the scene changes, the crew put in much effort to make sure that the timing of these details was perfect.
In the present timeline, we learned that the estate is home to the Coverly descendants. They have welcomed two competing researchers into their home: the reserved Hannah Jarvis (Anna Fitzsimmons ’25) and the ambitious Bernard Nightingale (James Farr ’25). As they chase different leads regarding the scandals that are happening on the estate in the 1809 timeline with witty dialogue, the two researchers set about combing through the letters and books left behind at Sidley Park.
Fitzsimmons’s composed delivery reinforced Hannah’s no-nonsense demeanor, while Farr infused Bernard with enthusiasm and animated gestures, and rapid-fire delivery to amplify his character’s self-assured energy.
As the present-day timeline progressed, we were introduced to Gus Coverly (Ames McNamara ’28), the youngest of the modern-day Coverly descendants. Later in the play, McNamara reappeared in the 19th-century timeline as Augustus, a parallel that deepened the connection between the two eras. “I was kind of the bridge between the two timelines,” McNamara said, as the only character that was double-cast in this play.
A key distinction between McNamara’s parallel characters is that Gus is mute, while Augustus is not. This presented an unusual challenge for McNamara. “It was a pretty unique acting challenge to play a character that doesn’t have any lines, so you have to figure out ways to express the emotions without words,” he shared.
As Act Two began, one of the most impressive moments came in Scene Five. Bernard delivered a lecture on the estate’s past while Valentine Coverly (former Harvard Independent Editor-in-Chief Andrew Spielmann ’25), Hannah, Chloë, and Gus all watched. Valentine would eventually be the one to realize that Thomasina had been a genius, having discovered the Second Law of Thermodynamics decades before its official formulation in the 1850s.
“It starts out very funny, and then gets very intense, and I think it’s just very well written,” Arthurs said. “And it was so much fun to watch the cast do that scene.”
I agree with Arthurs—the scene was comical as the characters made snide comments about Bernard’s speech. Lighting changes complimented every interruption, taking the focus off of Bernard and putting it on whoever was interjecting. However, later in the scene, the interruptions escalated into a heated argument and the tension quickly overtook the earlier comedic mood.
That scene was just one of many that displayed the cast’s ability to master dialogue. Technical, scientific, and mathematical terms were featured in many scenes. “That dialogue is so complicated, and so everything is timed so precisely,” Arthurs said.
“The cast did such an amazing job with [the show]. I’m lucky to have them,” he added.
As the play neared its end, the audience was able to witness that precise timing Arthurs discussed. In this scene, characters from both timelines are present on stage, but not interacting with each other. They all stay in their own timelines, carrying on with their regular conversations and requiring the actors to speak in between each other’s lines.
The discussion being held in the past timeline was Thomasina asking Septimus to waltz with her in honor of her 17th birthday being the next day. This was a chilling line to hear: earlier in the play, Hannah had mentioned that Thomisina died in a fire the night before her 17th birthday.
The final moments of the play were beautiful but carried a weight of dread as the audience knew what would soon happen to the girl waltzing on the stage. While Septimus and Thomasina continued their waltz, blissfully unaware of her tragic fate, the characters in the present-day timeline began a waltz of their own.
Gus approached Hannah, silently extending his hand in invitation. After a moment of hesitation, she accepted, stepping into the dance unfolding around her. As she moved, the past and present intertwined—Hannah waltzing in the modern timeline while, in the 1809 timeline, Thomasina and Septimus danced in parallel, bridging the two eras.
The play’s ending powerfully reinforced its themes of love, loss, and the passage of time. “The way the timelines start overlapping is really just brilliant,” shared Arthurs. “There is some really great emotional content and some genuinely satisfying twists.”
The cast, crew, and production team delivered an outstanding performance of Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia.” I don’t believe I’m the only one with this opinion—as the cast took their final bow on stage, the crowd in the Agassiz was on its feet, applauding them.
“Ben Arthurs did a fantastic job. This was his directorial debut, and to tackle a play of this length and intensity is a huge challenge, and he absolutely killed it,” McNamara shared. “And I think I can say I speak for all the actors when I say we really enjoyed working with him.”
Olivia Lunseth ’28 (olivialunseth@college.harvard.edu) writes Arts for the Independent.