Arcadia

Sir Tom Stoppard was born Tomáš Sträussler in Zlín, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) on July 3, 1937. As a child, he fled Nazi occupation as a refugee. He anglicized his name as “Tom Stoppard” after his mother’s second marriage to a British major in 1945, after the death of Thomas’s father. As an adult, Stoppard became a journalist and drama critic. He also began writing short radio plays. By 1960, Stoppard completed his first play, A Walk on the Water.

A 1964 Ford Foundation grant allowed Stoppard to write a one-act play that would evolve into Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, one of his most famous works. The play was staged at the 1966 Edinburgh Festival before a 1967 premiere at the National Theatre at the Old Vic. It won the 1968 Tony for Best Play. Two noteworthy plays were premiered in 1972 and 1974, Jumpers and Travesties, the latter of which won the 1976 Tony for Best Play. During the 1980s, Stoppard translated many eastern European plays into English. These absurdist works informed his writing.

Arcadia was written in 1993. The play premiered at the Royal National Theatre in a production directed by Trevor Nun. It starred Rufus Sewell, Felicity Kendal, Billy Nighy, and Harriet Walter. The production won the 1993 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play before transferring to Broadway with a new cast. It received three Tony nominations, including Best Play.

The term “Stoppardian” has evolved to describe plays that use wit and comedy to address philosophical concepts, like in Arcadia. Stoppard’s plays are full of wordplay and esoteric allusions. They often are concerned with ideas, their meanings, and their effects. Arcadia is an exemplar of Stoppard’s preference for intellectuality over social commentary or direct political engagement, especially early in his career. Starting in the late 1970s, his personal work and theatrical works began to include more political activism. He also sought to balance intellectualism with emotion to create fuller characters and more well-rounded playgoing experiences. Arcadia remains one of the most notable examples of his characteristic style and themes.