Isis Hainsworth is one of the breakout stars of director Carrie Cracknell’s new version of Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, which has just transferred to the Duke of York’s Theatre after a triumphant run at the Old Vic. Hainsworth has to be seen to be believed in the role of teenage maths prodigy Thomasina Coverly, for which she was Olivier-nominated. She is the heart and soul of a funny, tragic and head-spinningly clever play that touches on chaos theory, determinism, thermodynamics, Romanticism and much more besides.
“I was really intimidated by Arcadia before we started, because it’s so huge, there’s so much language and science and maths are my worst subjects,” says Hainsworth, who is dyslexic. “I was also a bit nervous about playing a child, which could be really easy to slip into stereotypical child acting that I find excruciating.”
