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Playing for Time (and Playing with Time) in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia

Enoch Brater

Comparative Drama, Volume 39, Number 2, Summer 2005, pp. 157-168 (Article)

Published by Western Michigan University

DOI: 10.1353/cdr.2005.0014

For additional information about this article

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PlayingforTime(andPlayingwithTime)

inTomStoppard'sArcadiaEnoch Brater

Timemoves inodd and often unfamiliarways in TomStoppard'stheater,andnomoresothaninArcadia,whichopened in 1993 at

theNational TheatreinLondonto greatandmuchdeservedcriticalac-claim.Theplaywrighthadalreadyearnedforhimselfareputationasanadventurousexplorerofhowtimemightbemadetoworkonamodern

andtechnically sophisticated WesternEuropeanstage.InTravesties,TheRealInspectorHound, IndianInk,andthelandmarkplaythatmadeev-erytheaterpractitionertake note,RosencrantzandGuildensternAreDead,Stoppard'ssurprising arrangementsfortherelationshipbetweenstagetimeandstagespacearenothing ifnotprofoundlyprovocativeandstylisticallyliberating.Stoppardisclever,sometimesinhisearlier workstoocleverbyhalf. Yeteveninthosefirstattemptsatdramaticwritinghemadesoonafterabandoninghiscareerasatheater criticfortheBristol

press,1therewassomethingat oncehilariousand disturbingaboutaninquisitivemind turningitsattentiontothe eccentricitiesofmovementandmeaning onabusyand bulkystageset.Somuchsothattheappealofhisworkquicklyreachedfarbeyondthespecializedrangeofthe mosthighlyinformed theatervocabulary. Physics,philosophy,iteratedloga-rithms,Fermat'slasttheorem,LordByron,steam engines, landscapear-chitecture, carnalknowledgeandhermitsallbecameessentialpartsofhisnew Arcadiangameplan. Postmodernpastiche would now framethe

ongoingdebatebetweenclassicismandromanticism.AsBeckettmighthavesaid(andas infacthedidsay), "Therestis Ibsen."2

157


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Thisessayaims toturnthe discussionsurroundingArcadiabackto

the logisticsoftheproscenium, to the specificway timeplays onStoppard'sstage,andtosuggesthowhiscarefulmanipulationoftheaterrealityal-tersourperceptionofthe intersectionsbetweentimepresent andtime

past.Howdosuch integers,subjecttofracture,interruptionandmisin-terpretation, claima dynamic lifefor themselvesinthat imaginary realmthatis alsoknown asdramatic illusion?

Stoppard'srichallusivetextureshouldclueusin toatleastonething:thiswriterisno mereinnocentwhenitcomestounderstandinghow

stagespacehasbeen usedbeforetoaccommodateany number ofunpre-dictabletimesignatures.HisreinventionofShakespeare'sdialoguehas,ofcourse,beenrichly celebrated, ashas hisretooling andrefashioningoflinesborrowed, sometimeswithrecklessabandon, fromSamuelBeckettandOscar Wilde.Lessnoted,perhapsbut notbyStoppardisthewaysuchplaywrightshavestructured stage spaceto accelerate,decelerate,andinsomecasesevenstoptimecompletely.Letusreview foramomentwhat Stoppard mayhavelearnedfromthem.

ShakespearehasalwaysbeenalivelysubjectforStoppard,justasheremains theusualsuspect forany discussionofhow timehasbeenputtowork efficiently onthe Westernstage.Eventhe mostfamousexamplewemightliftfromTheWinter'sTale,thefigureofFatherTimewho speaksmidwaythroughthe unfoldingactionto markthe passageofsixteenyears, isnothingmorethan astage devicetotake theplay'snarrativeenergy forward. His speechurges usto"imagine"withhimwhatthisspectacleisunwilling or unableorsimply disinclinedtoshow.Personifi-

cation hereisanengineofchoice;thisplay,which includesthesuddenappearanceofabearinhotpursuitofasupportingplayer, aswellas astatuethatmiraculously comesto life,hasinany casemade liberaluseofwhatstagecharactershavebeenaskedtodo.DirectorswhotrytotrumptheBardinthisregardwillusually dosoattheirperil.Thesecond sceneofOthello,for example, suggestivelyretracestheblockingofthefirst, theonein whichwemeetRoderigoand Iagoalmostnaturalistically,mid-speech,walkingdown astreetin aVeniceofShakespeare'sinvention.

Howmuchtimepassesbetween thesetwoscenesanyway,thesecondofwhich deftlyreplacesRoderigo with Othelloasaparalleloutdoor "conver-sation"continues?Andtalkofmiraculousappearances:in act 1,scene3,


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Desdemona,wholodgesatthe (hopefully nearby)Saggitary,iscalledfor

inline 115,justbeforetheonsetofOthello'swell-knownspeech beforetheSenate,only toappearbyher husbandssideasheconcludes,55linesandmany gorgeouslocutionslater.

Thatspeechitself,minuscinematicflashback,isloadedwithtimepast made timepresentthroughthe intercessionofspeechandwhat lan-guageismadetodo.HowswiftlyOthello'swords moveusthroughtimeandthroughspace:we'reallatonce backwithhiminBrabantio'shouseashetakesus onafree-wheelingtourencompassingseveraladditionaltimeframes.Thismultiplejourneyinto thepastwillinclude"boyishdays,""battles,sieges,fortunes,""disastrous chances,""movingacci-dentsbyfloodand field," "hair-breadthscapesi'the imminentdeadly

breach,""slavery"and"redemption,"and let'snot forgetabout the"Anthropophagi,"thosewondrouscreatures "whose heads /Dogrowbeneaththeir shoulders,"beforereturning usto Brabantio'shousewhereOthellotellstheadditional andfinal tale,the onewhichforegroundsDesdemona's"worldofsighs."AUthisbeforetheendofact 1,and wehaven'tevenmadeitto Cyprusyet.NowonderthatsomemembersofShakespeare'saudiencefind suchtime-travelingsothrilling.

Moving quickly throughstagetimeis onething,butstopping itcom-pletelyorat the very least,slowingitdownisquiteanother. Here, too,thevast Shakespearerepertorymay serve asadependablelaboratory.Soliloquies, generally considereda highpointofsucharichdramaturgy,nonetheless poseatacticalprobleminstaging.Whathappens,for ex-ample,tothe beatingofaclockassuchvirtuosospeechesaredeliveredliveintheinstanceofperformance?Istime,this veryparticularandpe-culiar show time, arrested?Doestheplayslowitselfdown?If,as wehavesooftenbeentold,suchaboldvolumeofspeechrepresentsacharacter"thinkingaloud,"what, exactly,isthemetronometakingthemeasureofan actofspontaneous thought supposedtobetakingplaceinsilence?Stagetime hasofcoursebeenconventionaUy applaudedand appreciatedforitsabilitytocondensereal time; somuchsothatwe canevenspeakwithassuranceofashow's"runningtime."Yetinsoliloquythereversemightverywellbetakingplace;the speakersuddenlyexpandsthemo-ment,stretchesitout,offeringthe dramaticmomentachanceto stand,sotospeak, still.Inthese dramatic monologuesstagetimeisrecalibrated


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rightinfrontofourveryeyesbeforethepaceofanypreviouslyestab-

lished"playtime"ispermittedtoresume.Inhislate playsBeckett,the "Wham, bam, thankyou Sam"Stoppardinvokeswith somuch brio in Rosencrantz andGuildenstern AreDead,

isespeciallysensitivetothisparticularplayingwith time,sometimesbasingacompletedramatic work onsuchamagisterial concept. Anyonewho has witnessedworkslikeFootfalborRockabyinperformance couldnot butfeel thattheirrunningtimeislongerthanitactually iseighteenminutesinone case, fourteenin theotherand notbecause oftheir

longueurs. Inthesetimeplaysitistheeconomy ofgesturethatcauterizesandexpandsanotherwisefleeting moment. Andduringsuch boldBeckettianevocationsthepast isquiteliterallyinthepresent."It'sthefuture,too,"asMaryTyroneintonesin LongDay'sJourneyintoNight."We alltrytolieoutofit,"O'Neillhashersay, "butlife[and inthiscase,stagelife]won'tletus."

LikeShakespeareandBeckettbeforehim,Stoppardisapragmaticmanofthetheater,andheknowshowstagepropscanalsobeusedtomaketimecirculatefreely.3InOthelloanitemasseeminglyinsignificantasahandkerchiefismadetoplayits roleasasignificanttimetraveler,andit willdo so againastheincriminatingevidencein Stoppard'sTheRealThing. EvenbeforeShakespeare'sdramabegins,itsprovenancecan

betraced allthe waybacktothe handsofan Egyptiancharmerwhogives itto Othello'sfatherwho gives itto Othello'smother, whothenpassesiton to theirson.In time(and Iusethe word quitedeliberatelyhere)itpassesintothehandsofDesdemona,Cassio,Bianca, Emilia, andfinaUyIago,whopromptlymakesuseofitforthefalsebutnonethelesseffective"ocularproof"ofDesdemona'ssupposedinfidelity.Therearenoclocksin Othello,butthatoverlyfetishizedhankymightjustas wellserveasone.So toodoesWildeaUow afan,inhiscaseLadyWindemere's,tocarrysomuch temporalweight.Itschanginglocationmovesusfor-wardfromonescenetothenext, fromonepotentialliaisontothenext;anditisnotuntil thatsamepropisplaced backinthe innocenthandswhereitbelongsthat timeisfinallyallowedtostandstillasthecurtainslowlyfalls.An appleanda tortoiseand"anold-fashionedtheodolite"exerciseasimilarmantic powerinTom Stoppard's Arcadia.


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II

Stoppard'sfascination with thechoreography ofstagetimeonacircum-scribedplayingspacecanbeobservedeveninhisearliestwork.All

playwrightsinacertainsensesharethesamepreoccupation,butsomemake their audiencesmore consciousofitthanothers.PapaIbsen learnedhowtochannelthatequation intoahighlyflexibledramatictechnique,oftentohelpus appreciatethedynamicsofhowtimefunctionsinoff-stagespaceto advancetheplot.In ADoll'sHouse, forexample, Mrs.Linde

sitsquietlyon theset whilewehear themuffledsounds ofaparty takingplacein someimaginedroominanotherfamily'shome"upstairs";andasThe WildDuckbegins,wehear theclatterofadinnerpartylongbe-forethehostsopen theparlordoortoconfrontanunexpectedguestwhowaitsforthem, alone, onstage.Stoppardcalledhis earlyplayEnter aFreeMan his"FloweringDeathofaSalesman,"4referringtotheinfluenceofRobertBolt'sFloweringCherryas wellastoArthurMiller'slandmarkworkof1949. Yetevenhis flippantremarkrevealsacertainhomagefor

thesadtaleofWillyLomanandthebrilliantstagesolutionMiller, work-ingincoUaborationwithhisdirector EliaKazanandhisdesigner JoMielziner, found forportrayingscenesbothinside and outside acharacter'shead.Imagineforamomenthowtemptingastagedirectionlikethis might have been for ayoungplaywright, fresh from theEdinburghFestival,heU-bentonresettingsomenewstage clocksofhisown:"Whenever theactionisinthepresent theactorsobservetheimagi-narywaU-lines,enteringthe houseonly throughitsdoorattheleft. But,

inthe scenesofthepast,theseboundariesarebroken,and charactersenterorleavearoombystepping'through'a wallontothe forestage."5SamShepard usessimultaneoussetsinFool forLoveandA LieoftheMind,andeven Beckettthoughtofusingone inhisunproducedplayEleuthria,writtenjust before hestarted writing Waiting forGodot.6Closer to home, Stoppard couldfindampleprecedentforplayingwithtime intheworkof J. B.Priestley,whosedramaslike Timeand theConwaysand HaveBeen ThereBeforetaketheiraudiencesfrom the

presenttothepast,thenbacktothepresentagain,inorderto allowthepassageoftimetomakeitsownsocialcommentary anditsownstingingrevelations.AmonghisBritishcontemporaries,too,Stoppard'sorches-trationofstagetimeisfuUofcross-references. In Betrayal HaroldPinter's


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ninescenes movebackwardandforwardintime,includingonedouble-

journeyintothe past;andtheworkofAlanAyckbourncomesloadedwithallsortsoftemporaleccentricities.HowtheOtherHalfLovesusesonlyonesetandonlyonelargetabletoaccommodatetheneedsoftwoseparatedinnerparties stagedsimultaneously (inthiscaseseeing isbeliev-ing).CarylChurchill'ssupperclubmightalsobe profitablyaddedtothesamelistofpermutations:in TopGirlsPopeJoan,Mrs.Kidd,LadyNijo,DuUGret,andPatientGriselda,figuresbothfictionalandhistorical,dinetogetherwithfeministpurposefulnessatatableinafashionableLondon

restaurantreservedforthembythemodern-day yuppie,CEOMarlene.Inoutliningsuch arichand varioustheaterhistoryinitsplaying

withtime,myintentionisnotonlytocertifyStoppard'scredentialsas aseriousinvestigatorofcontemporarydramaticform.Hisworks beforeArcadiashouldmakethatabundantlyclear.Butwhatwedoneedtono-ticeistheoriginalityandsheerwithebringsto suchlong-establishedconventions.TheuseofstagetimeinRosencrantzandGuildenstern AreDeadisboth parodie andfarcicalatthesametimethatitisdeadlyseri-ous.Theworkachievesitsmostimpressiveeffectsbecauseithypoth-esizestwocompellingand intersectingstagetimes,onecountingdownthe"real"Hamletin performanceupstageandthatquitedifferentonedeterminingthe fateoftwo bitplayerswhileeverythingispresently

beingframedinathirdandfinal stagetimethatconstitutesStoppard'snewplay.Patternsproliferateandoftencompeteforourattention, astheyhave beendesignedto do soagaininthe play-within-the-play-within-the-playthatconstitutesTheReal InspectorHound. Herewemeettwodefinitely not first-string theater critics, one ofthema dumbed-downDonQuixote,whomistake stagefictionforreality.Senttoreviewa

provincialproductionofanAgatha Christie-likemystery, they getthem-selvescaughtinthemousetrapoftheframe-within-the-frame-within-the-frame. Andbythe timeStoppardwritesTravesties,anysemblanceofAristoteliandramaticunities, equating stagetimewithrealtime, hasgoneseriouslyamuck,as hasanysemblanceofreliablehistory.James JoyceandTristanTzaranever metinZurichin1918,thoughtheyarefatedtodo so in Stoppard's play. Stagetimehere isevenmore ambiguouslyconflated: we are at various times with Lenin at the Finland Station

andatothertimesat arehearsalofTheImportanceofBeingEarnestproducedby theBritishConsulate. WorsestiU, thisplay'shighly unreliable


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narrator, Henry Carr, speakstousinthepresentaboutasuspectremem-

branceofthingspast. Alwaysworriedabout the cut ofhistrousers, evenduringtheFirstWorldWar,heseemstohavegotitallwrong. "Ilearnedthreethings inZurichduringthewar,"hetellsusinthequickcurtainspeech Stoppardhasgivenhim."Iwrotethemdown.Firstly,you'reei-therarevolutionary oryou'renot,andifyou'renotyoumightaswellbeanartistasanythingelse.Secondly, ifyoucan'tbe anartist, youmightaswellbearevolutionary... Iforgetthethirdthing."7

Compared tothese shenanigans,the playStoppard wrotealmost

twentyyearslateris aworkofalmostclassicaldesign andrestraint.InArcadiatheplaywrightorganizeshiseclectictimeframeselegantly.Regencyandpostmodern,theyears 1809and1989overlapand interact(withtheoccasionalforayinto 1812).Timeshiftshavebeenpremedi-tated toappearspontaneous,and thedualtimestructure iscarefullymanipulatedtoshowcauseaftereffect."Thearchitectureofthe play,"Stoppardsaid, "iswhathasmadeit work."8 Afusionrather thanaconfu-sionofmatters erotic, pastoral,andarithmetic, thestructureofthis work

servesasitsownemblemforwhatthelovelornValentineCoverlytellsHannahJarvisnear theendofthefirstact:"Theunpredictable andthepredeterminedunfold togethertomakeeverythingthe way it is.""It'show naturecreatesitself,"he elaborates,"oneveryscale,"9including, Iwouldadd, thescaleofthisplay. Andasweshallseeasthismostaccom-plishedofStoppard's worksdevelops, thatduality serves asboth through-lineandcontrollingmetaphorforalmosteverydramaticdevicethe

playwrightexploitsinthesehighlytheatrical shadesofArcady.

Ill

Arcadia,theplayin two actsitsauthorcalled"athrillerandaromantictragedy withjokes,"10pursuesitsdualtimeframeswithauthority,clarity,andagreatdealofstylisticdiscretion andprecision.Eachactispaceddifferently,asaretheseparateperiodsevokedinthecoordinated tempo-ral realities.AU action, dividedasitis, nonethelesstakesplaceinthesame

"roomonthegardenfrontofaverylargecountryhouseinDerbyshire"(Arcadia, 1).Stoppard'sstatelyhomeis calledSidley Hall,andthoughitsgardensseemtoresembleStourheadinWiltshire,hewasprobablythinking allthewhileofChatsworth,not farfromwhereheand his


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brotherPeterlivedwithhisCzech-bornJewishmotherand hersecond

husband, retiredarmyofficerKennethStoppard, whosenameand na-tionalityhe took.AtSidley HaUthe groundrulesrun somethinglikethis:inthe fourscenesofthefirstact,timepast and timepresentarealwaysfeaturedseparately.AUbetsareoffby thesecondact,however, for"justatthepointthe audiencethinksitcanguesswhat'scomingnext,"astheplaywrighthas said,"youhaveto foolthem."11Thesecondpartoftheplayistherefore arranged somewhatdifferently,asStoppard,work-inglikeadeconstructionistonaparticularlygoodday,recyclesatech-

niquehehasusedbeforeinIndian Ink:beginningwithsceneseven,characters fromthetwotime periodsnowhavetheoptionofstandingonstage together,thoughtheydo notseeeachother.The timescapeisfurthercomplicated whenacharacterinthe present(Gus)iscalledupontoplayhisancestorinthepast,thoughnoothermodern-dayfigureisrequiredtodo so.Hannah,areaderofperiodromancesasweU astheauthorwho knocksoffpopularhow-tobooksaboutgardening,remainsHannah throughout, asdoesthedesigner-academic BernardNightingale,

whoyearns forheadlinesandneversawatrendhedidn'tlike."Publish!"ishismantraasweUasthelastwordheutters "withacarefreeexpansivegesture"ashenoisilyexitstheplay (Arcadia,96).Othermembersofthislargecast,suchasSeptimusHodge,who cuts suchadecidedlydashingromanticfigure,andthenothing ifnotover-the-topLadyCroom, aresomuchaproduct oftheirtimethatStoppardverywiselydecidestoleavethem wheretheyare.

Stoppard's playbenefited enormouslyfrom Trevor Nunn's initial

Londonstaging. Takingfulladvantageofthe NationalTheatre'shigh-techefficiency, aswellasan ?-listcastthatincludedRufusSewell, HarrietWalter, BiUNighy, EmmaFielding, Samuel West, andFelicity Kendal, thatmemorableproductionreliedonitsdesignelementsofset, costume, andmusic to trackandtracethefluidity oftimebuiltinto thescript. Respect-ingthetext,and collaboratingwithit,the visualsineach scenemadetimelook"real," emphasizingitscomplementarity andrelativity (Nadel,433-37).In Arcadiapropscrosstime, asthetortoisedoes, enhancing thevisualizationofperioddoubling. Andyetitistheverballanguageofthedrama thatcontributesjustasforcefuUy toachievethiseffect.Whenchar-acterstalkinArcadia,andtalktheydo (thisis,afterall,Stoppard),theyspeakwithdramaticaccuracy andaplomb. Words onthisstagesimilarly


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movethroughtime astheychangetheirmeaningthroughtime.A

periodexclamationlike"Tush,tush"willbeheardonthissetas toosh,toosh,mediatedas itisin thiscasebyafamiliarYiddishcontributiontocontemporary English. Throughsyntax, rhythm, anddictionStoppardinventsafaux-periodEnglishtoaccommodatethe speechpatternsofhisfiguresfromthepast,thoughnotaUofthemmaximizeitspotentialinexactlythe same way.As theplayopensonthe scene inwhichThomasina,agethirteen, askshertutorSeptimusabout "carnalembrace,"the two ofthem soundmore like Sloane Rangersthan Regency"youngins."Theirinflections,asweUastheirchoiceofwords,including"grouse"and "mutton"andLatincaro,caris,movetheopeningdialogue

backand forththroughtime.ThoughSeptimusand ThomasinawiUbecarefulto avoidthe"nod, nod/wink, wink," theynonethelessdelivertheirearlynineteenth-centurydialogueself-consciously,asthough ithad apostmodernedgetoit. Atthedawnofa newcentury, they thinkofthem-selves,ironicaUy, asspeakersofadecidedly "modernstyle." LadyCroom,on theotherhand,suffersnosuchtrepidationasshetriestoputonthe

bestfaceshecanto play herlinguisticpartasRegency matronand grandedameextraordinaire.Yetshe, too, soundssomewherelost intheatertime,halfSheridan's Mrs. Malaprop( 1775), halfWilde'sLadyBracknell( 1 895).Poetry inthis manufacturedstage-periodfaresnobetter. Thewell-namedEzra Chater's"CouchofEros,"whoselyricalnarrationhasbeenlosttotime(and hereEnglishdepartmentshavehadanarrowescape),wouldmakeeven"theidiotmother"of"The IdiotBoy"wince.12

Stoppard'scharactersinthepresent likewisespeakalanguagethatis

just astime-bound,thoughthey hardlyseemtobe awareofit.Givenanother hundredyearsor so, Chloe and Valentinewillsoundjustasdatedastheirancestors.HannahJarvisissoverymuchawomanofhertimethat her speechdatesher asmuch asherself-assurance:marriageforhersimply isn't worth thesacrificeyouhave tomake forit,whichinhercaseincludesa licensefor"farting" inbed.BernardNightingale(theBenedictofthesamename, whojusthappenstobetheleadcriticfortheLondonTimes,wasnotataUhappy about sharinganamewithhim)isofcoursethe mostdelusionalofaUwhenitcomestorecognizingtheshelflifeofhisjargon.Adononoverdrive, heisevenmorecluelessthanthe "wifeoftheacademic"Stoppard caricaturedinJumpers:someonewho is"twiceremoved fromthecenterofevents."13Determined, nonetheless, to make


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his nameahouseholdword,his fifteenminutesoffameisreducedeven

furtherwhenhisshoddyresearchisexposedforthenonsensethatit is.GusCoverly,agefifteen,doesn'tspeakatall,thoughatthecloseoftheplayhe holdsallthecards inhishandinthe formof"anoldandsome-whattatteredstiff-backedfoliofastened with atapetied in a bow.""'Septimus holding Plautus',"Hannah thanks him."I waslooking forthat" (Arcadia, 97).Hissilence speaks volumes. Gus wouldhavemadeanexcellenthermit,ifonlyhehadbeenallowedtoliveinthisplay'spast.

IV

Productsofalanguagethatisalsoshown tobeasmutableastimeitself,alldefinitions andclassificationsinArcadiaareequally layered,limited,andsuspect.Theyalsoshowthemselvestobejustasflexible.Stoppard's

playingwithtimeispartiallysited inanuneasy pastattheverymomentwhenoneZeitgeistisaboutto givebirthtoanother.Thegardenweseethroughthis set'selaboratewindow frame withinthestageframeis there-

forethe subjectofconsiderableintrigue.Historicalaswell ashorticul-tural revisionism isinthe air.Timeplays.The classicalsymmetry ofCapabilityBrown'sfivehundredacresisabout tobeundonebyCulpa-

bilityNoakes in theNewAgeappetiteforthe"picturesque,"completewithgrottos, hermitageand "everythingbutvampires."The gothic scen-eryofTheCastleofOtrantoisabouttotakerootandassertitssupremacyinSidley Park'sveryownbackyard(13).LadyCroom,whosepatronageoflandscapearchitectureincludesasmany trystsintheglasspavilionas

herbusy scheduleallows,couldn'tbemoreputoutbyaU ofthefusssucharadicaltransformation involves.AndyettheveryEnglish classicismthreatenedhere,whatthisplay calls"CapabilityBrowndoingClaude,whowasdoing Virgil,"is asmuchafashionastheromanticclaptrapthatisabouttoreplaceit(26).Eachagere-createsitselfintheimageitmakesofthepast.Thatclassicism so latelylamented was at itsbestonlyanimitationofan imitation, aRoman viUa landscape remadeasRenaissance-Italianbeforesuchadolcestilnolongernuovobecamethegoingfashion

in England'sgreenand pleasantland.Nottoworry:thepicturesquestylewon'tlastlong.It,too,wiUbeundonebytime.For Stoppard'smodern-dayfigures,caught inadetectivestorythat

isalsopartlyaromance,recuperating the pastturnsouttobethesame


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sortofzero-sumgame,thisonelessaestheticthaninvestigatoryThatis

whatcurious mindsdo:trytoimagineapastthat,paceStoppard,mayhaveneverreallyhappenedthatwayinthefirstplace.It'stheasking thatmatters:andyouwanttomake sure youdosobefore"we aUendupatroomtemperature.""Thisisnot science,"asSeptimusremarks. "Thisisstory- teUing"(93).Infact,itisneither;whatthisreallyis,istheater.

Stoppard'smostinstructivedisplayofthetheater's ability todisturbperceptiontakesplace,ofcourse,inTheRealThing,hiswork from 1982thatwasevenmoreconvincingin David Leveaux'sLondon revivalin1 999at the Donmar Warehouse,withStephenDiUaneinthe leadasHenry,theplaywright-protagonistwithapenchantforpopularmusic(hehasaspecialfeelingforHerman'sHermits). This"real"theater"thing"opensonascene fromaplaytheaudienceonlyrecognizesassuchwhenthenextscene begins.OnceagainStoppardresurrectsaweU-worndevice,theplay-within-the-play, toexposethemanymechanismstheaterhasatitsdisposalfortheperformancepossibilitiesas weU astheproblematizationofstagingtime. In TheReal Thingtheaudience isawakened by ajoltwhen itsuddenlyrecognizes in theplay'ssecondscenethattheater isdoingwhatitalwaysdoesbest:takingusforaride.BeforeStoppard, thisusedtobe called "thewillingsuspensionofdisbelief."

InStoppard'splayingfortimeand playingwithtime,moreover,almostanythingcanbemade tohappen.Fromthepointofviewof

physics,timereallycan'trunbackwards;butonstage youcanatleastmanipulateit tocreatetheillusionofitsdoingso.In Arcadia'slastscene,characters from dual timeperiodsjoininadance, the most conventionalofaUwaysto enda play.Butbeforetheydoso,Stoppard'smodern-daywagsputon Regencycostumes.OnlytheintrepidHannahdemurs,asshesitsatatablestrewnwiththisplay'smessyprops, stilltryingtofigureout justwhathappenedwhen LordByron visitedthisstatelyhomeofEngland,"BridesheadRegurgitated,"waybackwhen.The dancetothemusicoftimecontinuesallaroundheraspastandpresentfinaUymeetasone.Stoppard,afanoftheRollingStones,hadoriginally wantedhismusicianstoplay "YouCan't AlwaysGet What You Want,"buthethought

betteraboutit.14

Longing todiscover something aboutthemselvesor, atthevery least,abouttheworldofSidleyPark fromapastthatrefusestoberecaptured,


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Arcadia'sthoroughlymoderncharactersarestuckinthestrange time

warpthatistheater.Stoppardusestheir dilemma to transformthemintoonemore timesignaturein theoveraUarchitectureofhisplay.Andassuchtheybegintopaintthemselvesintothefinalpicturewe receiveofArcadia.Likethedonorskneelingatthefootofsomegreat Renaissanceartworkthink,for exampleofMasaccio's Trinitin Florence's SantaMariaNoveUathey arebothinside thehistory they seekto recoverandsomehow, simultaneously, outsideofit. WhatthesecharactersinArcadiahavebeendoingaUalong,butwithout knowingit,isplayingfortime

butalsoplaying withtheconventionsofstagetimeinthe newdramaticunitythatisStoppard'smostmasterfulplay.

UniversityofMichigan

NOTES

1ForStoppard'sworkasajournalist, seeIraNadel,TomStoppard: ALife(NewYork:Palgrave/Macmillan, 2002),58-77.

2Beckettquotedin EnochBrater,TTie Essential Samuel Beckett(London: Thamesand Hudson,2003),107.

' Onthispoint.seeAndrewSofer,TheStage Life ofProps(Ann Arbor: University ofMichiganPress,2003).

4See Nadel,89

5See Miller's stagedirectionsforthe openingscenein DeathofaSalesman (NewYorlcViking,1949),18.

6See Brater,62-63

7TomStoppard, Travesties(London:Faber,1975),98-99.

See Nadel,434.

'TomStoppard, Arcadia (London:Faber,1993), 47.

10Stoppardquotedby Nadel,434.

"Ibid., 442.

12 SeeDavidPerkins,ed., EnglishRomanticWriters(New York:Harcourt,Brace,1967), 788.

"TomStoppard,Jumpers(London:Faber,1972),36.

14See Nadel,433.

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