Stage Notes: Arcadia At The Old Vic

One of Britain’s most playful playwrights Tom Stoppard passed away at the end of November 2025 – so there’s no better time, really, to stage his masterwork Arcadia. Now playing in the round at The Old Vic, C&TH peeks behind the stage curtain with Leila Farzad who stars as Hannah Jarvis.

Arcadia At The Old Vic: What To Expect

Holly Godliman (Chloë Coverly), William Lawlor (Gus Coverley) and Angus Cooper (Valentine Coverly) in Arcadia at The Old Vic (2026). (© Manuel Harlan)

What’s The Plot?

‘Arcadia is a bittersweet comedy about physics and love – two forces so strong that even the brightest spark can’t control or fully understand them,’ star Leila Farzad summarises. Set in a country house and split between two timelines – one in 1809, the other in the present – it’s about sex, maths, nature and time, unfolding over the course of two and a half hours. In the past, we meet precocious teen Thomasina Coverly and her tutor Septimus Hodge, while in the present, Hannah Jarvis, Bernard Nightingale and Valentine Coverly converge on the house.

Penned by Tom Stoppard and first performed at the National Theatre in 1993, ‘it is widely considered to be one of if not his best play,’ Leila says. ‘It has the perfect balance of highbrow intellectual themes mixed with profound emotional notes.

‘The themes like rational thought versus emotional are eternal, but there are even more pertinent ones like entropy and thermodynamics which can be linked to climate change and the struggle we face there,’ Leila adds, speaking to Arcadia’s enduring relevance. ‘Algorithms and Thomasina’s delving into that is also a prophetic comment on AI and our current desire to find patterns in chaos.’

Approaching it, the star, who plays Hannah, says she felt ‘a whole gamut of things’, having admired Stoppard’s work as a young aspiring actor. ‘I felt like I was back at university with the amount of study and research needed before even attempting to get into the acting side,’ Leila says. ‘Once you fully understand it and get it into your cell system, though, the fear lessens and the utter joy and privilege begins.’

Leila Farzad (Hannah Jarvis) in Arcadia at The Old Vic (2026). (© Manuel Harlan)

As for Hannah – who dons grungey denim and polo-necks in a ‘self-aware’ divergence from the ‘twee academic’ trope – ‘she is both detective, academic and atheist,’ Leila says. ‘She embodies the rejection of anything false; she is the voice of reason and truth. Her rejection of anything romantic is both her strength and reveals her vulnerability in being unable to deal with anything she perceives as tender.’

Stoppard may only have passed away in November, but Arcadia is the second London production of his work since then; India Ink ran at Hampstead Theatre from 3 December 2025 to 7 February 2026. This production of Arcadia at The Old Vic is directed by Carrie Cracknell, who Leila describes as ‘rigorous and precise while managing to maintain warmth and humanity’. 

‘We spent a lot of time around a table interrogating the whys and the wheres which gave everyone a solid foundation to start with,’ Leila recalls. ‘Carrie is also funny and empathic, which means the emotion of the piece sings through as well.’

The Company in Arcadia at The Old Vic (2026). (© Manuel Harlan)

The Venue

The former home of the National Theatre (until 1976), the Old Vic may be located outside of the traditional bounds of the West End, but this venue is no less storied. A stone’s throw from Waterloo station, the Grade II* listed building as it stands today was constructed in 1871 and refurbished in 1985, with a capacity of 1,067 audience members. However, in 2026, the theatre has committed to staging all of its productions in the round – where a circular stage sits at the centre of the audience – reducing that capacity to about 900 and creating a strikingly intimate experience. 

‘The Old Vic is brimming with history and all the plays from years gone past seem to be seeped into the walls,’ Leila says. ‘It’s my first time performing there. The stage now being in the round adds another level of both challenge and excitement.

‘Being an audience member at the Old Vic is to leave the drudgery of the outside and come into a world of ideas, wit and story shared with you on a stunning stage and be utterly transported,’ Leila adds.

The Takeaway

What will you be thinking about on the journey home? ‘Hannah’s line, “it’s wanting to know that makes us matter”, is a good feeling to take away from Arcadia,’ Leila says. ‘How striving is important: striving for knowledge, truth and even love is the only way to be.’ 

She adds the play may also prompt us to ‘reframe the dystopian world we currently find ourselves in, with the quest for truth being so hard at the moment’.

Seamus Dillane (Septimus Hodge) and Isis Hainsworth (Thomasina Coverly) in Arcadia at The Old Vic (2026). (© Manuel Harlan)

Eat & Drink Nearby

And if you can’t face hopping straight onto a tube, there are plenty of spots to debrief nearby. Right behind the theatre, find Backstage, The Old Vic’s cafe/bar, open Monday to Wednesday until 11pm and Thursday to Saturday until midnight.

Nearby, there’s a branch of cult-loved Malaysian restaurant Roti King on Lower Marsh, which is also the street to head to for buzzy bars and nightlife. If a pizza is what you are craving, Crust Bros whips up build-your-own wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas in low-key surroundings.

If you are not opposed to walking a little further pre- or post-show, the South Bank is only 10 minutes away, where rooftop bar 12th Knot, cocktail spot Lyanness, the Oxo Restaurant in the iconic tower and plenty more await.

Tickets

Arcadia runs until 21 March at the Old Vic (103 The Cut, London SE1 8NB). Nearest stations: Waterloo, Southwark, Lambeth North.

The show runs for two hours and 50 minutes, including a 20-minute interval.

Tickets start from £13 per person.

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