Arcadia

This is a terrific piece of theatre. Tom Stoppard is such a clever writer, and he packs so much wit and intelligence into this play that it is a pleasure from start to finish. It’s a complicated story and you do need to keep your wits about you – some of it is of the blink and you miss it variety (or get distracted by your neighbour’s mobile phone and you miss it – what part of ‘please turn your mobile completely off’ do they not understand?) but the necessity of a bit of mental agility just adds to its appeal. A difficult play to describe, it’s set in a country house in Derbyshire where two groups of people, separated by nearly 200 years, set out to unravel some of the many puzzles that life throws at us. Love and lust, mystery and intrigue, science and poetry, wild hilarity and gentle tragedy – what more could you want? Well, a decent production, actually, and that’s exactly what director Patrick Mason gives us. Beautifully paced and perfectly cast, this is a real winner – highly recommended. (And did you know, student tickets are a mere €15 Mon-Thur) Until Sat 10 July. www.gate-theatre.ie