Stoppard’s ‘Arcadia’: Mixing Matter, Mind

When two time periods are viewed simultaneously--which is not as rare a literary trick as it seems--the differences in dress, custom and humor can be major, but the difference in thought, minor. That’s the sleight-of-hand in Tom Stoppard’s amazing “Arcadia,” now playing at Winifred Smith Hall at UC Irvine.

A modern literary detective appears at a rich country estate to delve into the facts of a visit there by Lord Byron. His revealing investigation occurs in coexisting lines of action with events that took place in the mansion in the early 19th century. As Gertrude Stein said, everything is different, but everything is the same.

In the earlier period, a 14-year-old mathematics prodigy and her tutor are battling with precocious math theory and passion. The two dramatic lines build inseparably to the same conclusion, that human development relies heavily on thought.

In a program note, the production’s director, Keith Fowler, head of the UCI graduate directing program, says, “Stoppard juggles heady ideas along the way, and audiences are challenged to keep up with him. But while some may despair at his rapid-fire introductions to classical studies, number theory, and literary history, it is only necessary to ‘get’ part of his idea-scape to enter fully into his delightful dramatic world.”

And from his earliest works to now, Stoppard’s world is delightful. The mind works while delving into Stoppard’s drama, but the effort is hidden in his epigrammatic cleverness and his shrewd blend of satire and comedy.

* “Arcadia,” Winifred Smith Hall, UC Irvine. Thursdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 p.m. Ends Feb. 5. $6-$15. (949) 824-2787, (949) 824-5000, and Ticketmaster, (714) 740-2000.