The Real Thing: A Play

by Tom Stoppard

Book Overview

The play begins with Max and Charlotte, a couple whose marriage seems about to rupture. But nothing one sees on a stage is the real thing, and some things are less real than others. Charlotte is an actress who has been appearing in a play about marriage by her husband, Henry. Max, her leading man, is also married to an actress, Annie. Both marriages are at the point of rupture because Henry and Annie have fallen in love. But is it the real thing?...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0571125298
• ISBN13: 9780571125296
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.0" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Another great play by Stoppard!

Tom Stoppard is my favorite playwright. Yet, the first time I read The Real Thing, I really disliked it. I didn't find his focus on adultry at all compelling. When I read the play for a second time, I realized that it had a lot of merit that I had not previously noticed. For example, he examines the relationship between polemic and artistic creation, between the artistry of writing and writing which is personal and passionate. Is it a good thing to be able to manipulate words for any occasion, or is it better to feel strongly about what you are writing?

Simply superb

This play is very funny in places, very moving in places, very absorbing in places -- all of it in an apparently seamless whole of the high Stoppardian quality. How does the man do it? How does one write a dissertation on the art of writing using a cricket bat as a teaching aid? To quote another recent Stoppard's work: "It's a mystery!..."

The usual Stoppard brilliance.

As what is considered a turning point in Stoppard's ability to write romance, The Real Thing includes the usual ingenius commentary on life and art this time woven through a love story. Thus, the play can be enjoyed for the usual Stoppardian elevated language and fascinating explanations of quality art as well as its touching yet clever romantic plot. Moreover, it is this plot that sets it apart from Stoppard's earlier work. The characters in The Real Thing make up complex relationships and display emotions that add another facet to Stoppard's masterful control of the language. Dialogue seemlessly drifts between discussions of language to discussions of life, all the while maintaining the level of quality for which Stoppard is famous. It is a wonderful play demonstrating wit, intelligence, cleverness, and overall entertainment in a variety of ways.As Ros. and Guil. used Hamlet and Travesties used the Importance of Being Ernest, The Real Thing contains certain references to 'Tis Pity She's a Whore that make that Jacobean tragedy a helpful piece of background reading.