Tom Stoppard

A tie-in edition to the upcoming Broadway revival of Tom Stoppard's extraordinary play about love and marriage--the work that has been called "the most moving play" ("The New York Times") he has ever written.

A Play

The Real Thing

Kate

It's very smart but it might be too cynical for me.

Trevor Berrett

I think this play has one of the best lines about enduring love and enduring through love. Even though the characters and incredibly flawed, I appreciated their vulnerability and desire to stay together despite the fact that their relationship was getting difficult. Stoppard does a great job portraying two characters who don't want to stay together because of a buildup of tension and yet who still feel compelled to remain. It's not a simplistic portrayal either. The two characters are not so devoted to love and marriage that they seem naive and idealistic about love and marriage; in fact, if anything they seem jaded about the whole idea--their last marriages ended because of their affair and there is no real indication that they plan on this relationship lasting longer than it takes for the norepinephrine to dry up. But somehow--and they are surprised by this--they want to stay together despite all this. While watching and later reading the play, I kept trying to figure out how Stoppard portrayed the conflicting emotions so seamlessly. Stoppard is a genius, though, so I still don't know how he did it but I'm glad I can appreciate and enjoy his work both on the stage and in print.
 A word about the understandability of this play: In his work Stoppard is often engaged in metaphysics, chaos theory, erudite history, and loads of other obscure and hard to understand devices--that's part of his charm and intrigue. Perhaps this play has such devices too and I missed it, but I found this play to be very accessible without sacrificing depth.

Riley Baker

Aviv Leo Zippin

Jessica

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 written 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? The Real Thing was first performed at the Strand Theatre, London, on 16 November 1982.

The Real Thing A Play

Reviews