The King's Players to Perform 'Arcadia' Off-Campus in the Theatre District

In 2006, the Royal Institution of Great Britain recognized Arcadia as one of the best science-related works ever written, a story about "Sex, Literature and Death.”

This Friday and Saturday, the King's Players will bring to life this absurdist-comedy on the stage at The Sonnet Theater on 44th Street.

“I chose this play because it was like nothing I'd ever read," Kristen Pender ('19), Director of the King's Players' Arcadia and member of the House of Truth, said. "I wanted to do something that would be a challenge for us as well, and a challenge it is!”

All utopias, in this case the fictional Arcadia, have their background stories. An intricately woven narrative transports the audience to Sidley Park -- a country house in Derbyshire, England. The script is all-encompassing, from scandals to landscaping to science, and alternates between two time periods: 1993 and 1809. The plot revolves around characters from both eras. In 1993, two modern scholars and Sidley Park's current residents are juxtaposed to the house's 1809 inhabitants.

“The dynamics between all of the characters are extraordinary. All of them are geniuses and their personalities are very interesting to watch conflict,” Caitlin Coats ('20) noted, who plays the role of Hannah Jarvis and is a member of the House of ten Boom.

Tom Stoppard, the original author of the play, explores  the dynamic relationships of Sidley Park, including the past and the present, disorder and order, and even uncertainty and certainty.

“As a freshman, getting to perform in the Theatre District is something I never thought would be a possibility!” Coats added.

Located in close proximity to Phantom of the Opera and Something Rotten in the Theatre District, The Sonnet is within the Producers Club at 358 W 44 St., New York, NY 10036.

To purchase tickets, visit the King's Players' Eventbrite webpage.